NEW DELHI, MAY 31: Finally, four years after the recommendation of his name by the Supreme Court Collegium, the Centre is set to approve the senior advocate Sadiq Wasim Nargal for appointment as a judge of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
Once cleared Nargal will become the first Muslim practicing lawyer from Jammu to get appointed as a judge of the common high court of the Union Territories of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh.
After a four-year delay, President Ram Nath Kovind is expected to okay the appointment and the official notification is expected to be out this week.
Nargal’s name was first recommended by the High Court collegium on 24 August 2017. The candidature was okayed by the top court collegium, comprising former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice Jasti Chelameswar and Justice Ranjan Gogoi (who became CJI in October 2018), on 6 April 2018.
However, Nargal’s elevation was left out while the government issued warrants on 3 August 2018 for the appointments of the other two lawyers, Sindhu Sharma and Rashid Ali Dar, whose names were recommended along with him.
After a few months, the Centre returned Nargal’s name along with that of sessions judge Rashid Ali Dar to the SC collegium for “reconsideration”.
According to the Memorandum of Procedure, which oversees judicial appointments, the government can send back recommendations that it deems unsuitable. It is, however, bound to accept them in case the Supreme Court collegium reiterates the names.
The top court authorities had made inquiries at the Ministry of Law and Justice about the reason for not accepting the recommendation but did not receive any response. The SC collegium reiterated its decision on Nargal in January 2019 and March 2021.
Now finally, four years after the first recommendation, he will get a stamp of approval from the Centre.
Nargal resigned from his post as senior additional advocate general of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir in June 2018.
As a government counsel, he has represented security forces, including the Indian Army, Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force before the High Court.
He is currently a designated senior advocate in Jammu and the standing counsel for the University of Kashmir.
Eleven judges were appointed to the high court after Nargal was recommended. He was 49 when his name was suggested by the Supreme Court for elevation and would have had more than 12 years as a permanent High Court judge. By the convention of seniority, he would have been a potential Chief Justice of a High Court in the country. Now, he will have a tenure of over seven years.
The approved strength of the J&K High Court is 17 judges. It currently has 15 judges including Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal. He is originally from the Allahabad High Court.