President Appoints Justice Akil Kureshi As Chief Justice Of Tripura High Court After Centre Clears Appointment

After keeping it pending for months, the Centre on Friday (8 November) notified the appointment of Justice Akil Kureshi as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court.

"The President is pleased to appoint Justice Akil Kureshi, the judge of Bombay High Court, as the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court," said a government notification issued on Friday.

The Centre's counsel had on Thursday told the Supreme Court that nearly all administrative formalities in connection with the appointment had been completed, except the last signature.

A senior judge from the Gujarat High Court, Justice Akil Kureshi is serving as a judge of the Bombay High Court at present following a transfer.

In May 2019, the apex court Collegium had recommended Justice Kureshi's elevation as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, but the recommendation was not approved by the Centre.

After the Collegium on 5 September passed a resolution saying the Centre had twice returned the proposal of elevation of Justice Kureshi to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Gujarat High Advocates' Association (GHCAA) moved the apex court taking objection to the Centre's reluctance on the appointment.

On 19 September, the apex court said a decision had been taken on the collegium recommendation for elevation Justice Kureshi and it will be published on the Supreme Court website.

However, the Collegium on 20 September, modified its recommendation and approved the appointment of Justice Kureshi as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court.

Earlier this week, the GHCAA sought a hearing on Friday, after the Centre on 30 October notified the appointment of former Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice, Justice A K Mittal as the next Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh.

GHCAA counsel senior advocate Arvind Datar told a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that the top court had already granted enough time to the Centre on the matter, and sought a hearing on Friday.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court that some administrative formalities were pending in connection with the Collegium recommendation to appoint Justice Kureshi as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court and requested the court to schedule the next hearing in the case on next Monday. The Chief Justice instead listed the matter on Thursday.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)