The Collegium of the Supreme Court has recommended the name of senior lawyer from Meghalaya, Biswadeep Bhattacharjee for appointment as a judge of the Meghalaya High Court.
The Meghalaya High Court is currently functioning with three judges as against a sanctioned strength of four.
The recommendation was made on the proposal by the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court on August 12, 2022 in consultation with the two members of the Supreme Court Collegium.
Since the constitutional authorities of the State have not given any input in respect of the above recommendation, the proposal has, therefore, been forwarded by the Department of Justice, Government of India to the Supreme Court by invoking Para 14 of the Memorandum of Procedure which provides that if the comments of the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister are not received within six weeks from the date of receipt of the proposal, it shall be presumed that the constitutional authorities in the State have nothing to add to the proposal and the proposal may accordingly be processed.
In order to ascertain the fitness and suitability of Bhattacharjee for elevation to the High Court, the Supreme Court Collegium consulted in terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, a Judge of the Supreme Court conversant with the affairs of the Meghalaya High Court.
For the purpose of assessing the merit and suitability of Bhattacharjee for elevation to the High Court, the Supreme Court Collegium has scrutinised and evaluated the material placed on record including the observations of the Department of Justice in the file.
Bhattacharjee has a standing of nearly thirty years as a lawyer and has appeared before the High Court in a number of civil, criminal, service and constitutional cases. He was appointed as amicus curiae in two criminal appeals.
He has been holding the office of Additional Advocate General of the Meghalaya government since 2018. He has a reasonably good professional income which reflects on his practice at the Bar.
“The inputs provided by the government in the file indicate that he enjoys a good personal and professional image and nothing adverse has come to notice with regard to his integrity. Besides, he has good knowledge and experience of handling civil and criminal matters under the Administration of Justice Rules applicable in the State of Meghalaya. His experience would thus be a value addition to the High Court,” the Supreme Court Collegium said in its resolution while recommending that Bhattacharjee be appointed as a judge of the Meghalaya High Court.
