Government approves seven Delhi High Court judges, delays one collegium nominee

The Union, via a notice posted by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, approved seven of the eight candidates the Supreme Court collegium had recommended on September 10 for the Delhi High Court. Permanent judges Nivedita Anil Sharma and Nisha Sahay Saxena were confirmed, and additional judges Sanjay Sharma-I, Bharat Parashar, Dr Aditi Choudhary, Dinesh Bhatt and Arun Bhardwaj were appointed. Bhardwaj previously served as the registrar general of the Delhi High Court, while Parashar is the Supreme Court’s secretary general.

Saxena and Sharma-I currently hold principal district judge positions in Rohini North-West and Karkardooma North-East districts respectively, and Bhatt is a special judge for the PC Act at the Rouse Avenue Courts. The government withheld approval for Gurvinder Pal Singh, whose name had also been put forward by the Delhi High Court collegium. The new appointments increase the court’s sitting strength to 51 judges out of a sanctioned 60.