Supreme Court Collegium recommends 5 judicial officers, 4 advocates as Madhya Pradesh High Court judges

The Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday recommended the elevation of five judicial officers and four advocates as judges of the Madhya Pradesh High Court..The High Court of Madhya Pradesh had recommended the names of the five judicial officers on May 11 and August 9 this year. Meanwhile, the four advocates were recommended earlier by the High Court for elevation as judges, through a proposal in November 2022.After scrutinizing the names and material on record, the Supreme Court Collegium cleared all the names on October 17. The candidates proposed for appointment are:Judicial officersRajendra Kumar Vani,Pramod Kumar Agrawal,Binod Kumar Dwivedi, Devnarayan Mishra, and Gajendra SinghAdvocatesVinay Saraf,Vivek Jain, Ashish Shroti, and Amit Seth..Notably, judicial officer Binod Dwivedi was recommended after acknowledging that he has crossed the age of 58½ years as on the date of vacancy against which his name has been recommended.He is an exceptionally fit and suitable officer who would be an asset to the institution, the Collegium recorded..The Supreme Court Collegium also disclosed that it considered representations made by certain other senior judicial officers where they raised a grievance that their names may have been overlooked by the High Court Collegium. The Supreme Court Collegium, however, opined that the High Court had good reasons for not recommending their names. .Amongst the advocates recommended for elevation, the Supreme Court Collegium noted certain general observations made by the Department of Justice against advocate Ashish Shroti, which touched upon his legal acumen in criminal law. However, the Collegium opined that such observations should not come in the way of recommending him for elevation as a High Court judge."These observations should not come in the way of the recommendation of the candidate. In this regard, the Collegium is of the view that it is for the judiciary to assess the same and that the same cannot be adjudged on the basis of unconfirmed/unsubstantiated information. Besides, there is nothing adverse against the integrity of the candidate" the Collegium stated. .The Madhya Pradesh High Court presently has 31 judges..[Read Collegium Resolution on Judicial Officers].[Read Collegium Resolution on Advocates]