In a key development following recommendations from the Supreme Court Collegium, the central government on Thursday notified the appointment of seven out of eight judicial officers as Judges of the Gujarat High Court.
The notification was formally announced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal via a post on social media platform ‘X’.
Quoting constitutional authority, the Minister stated, “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following Judicial Officers as Judges of the Gujarat High Court.”
The newly appointed judges are Liyakat Hussain Shamsuddin Pirzada, Ramchandra Thakurdas Vachhani, Jayesh Lakhanshibhai Odedra, Pranav Maheshbhai Raval, Mool Chand Tyagi, Dipak Mansukhlal Vyas and Utkarsh Thakorbhai Desai.
These appointments come in the wake of a Supreme Court Collegium recommendation made last month, which had proposed the elevation of eight judicial officers to the Gujarat High Court.
However, one Judicial Officer Rohenkumar Kundanlal Chudawala was notably absent from the Centre’s notification, despite being part of the original Collegium recommendation.
The government has offered no explanation for the exclusion, raising questions once again about the transparency and timelines in the judicial appointment process.
The appointments take the Gujarat High Court a step closer to addressing its persistent backlog and shortage of judges, although the non-appointment of one recommended name could potentially trigger further correspondence between the Collegium and the government.
The apex court has, in past decisions, underscored the importance of timely appointments to High Courts and warned against selective clearances without communication.
UNI SNG SS
