New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday junked a petition challenging the recommendation of Supreme Court Collegium for appointment of advocate of Sanjib Panigrahi as a judge of Orissa High Court.
A three-judge bench of apex court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer rejected the petition.
“We are not entertaining the matter,” the bench observed.
It is to be mentioned here that the Intercontinental Association of Lawyers had filed a petition in the apex court challenging the top court collegium’s recommendation to appoint advocate Sanjib Panigrahi as one of the Justices of Orissa High Court and had also sought a CBI inquiry into his recommendation to probe whether he had used his resources to get recommended.
The petitioner’s counsel further demanded that the SC shall quash a contempt order by Orissa High Court against the agitating lawyers in the state.
“The recommendation has hurt not only the sentiments of the Advocates of Odisha but also helped losing their faith in the Collegium system for appointment of Judges which has been unpopular throughout the country,” the petitioner pleaded.
The petitioner also pleaded that the apex court should quash the recommendation of SC collegium and High Court collegium for appointment of Panigrahi as Justice of Orissa HC and stated that “If Sanjib Panigrahi is appointed as a Judge of the Odisha High Court, it is the ground reality that no lawyer will appear before him.”
He had also demanded the transfer of three judges of Orissa High Court Collegium to other courts.
However, the apex court refrained from interfering in the matter and rejected the petition.