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Dr. Kavita Kamboj vs. High Court of Punjab and Haryana

Not available · 2024 INSC 192Decided 13 Feb 2024
Not available

Background

The case arose from a batch of appeals challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's recommendation to promote thirteen in-service Civil Judges to the post of Additional District and Sessions Judges under the 65% promotional quota in the Haryana Superior Judicial Service Rules, 2007. The State Government objected to the process, arguing the High Court had gone beyond the Rules by requiring candidates to separately score a minimum of 50% in both the written exam and the viva voce, and had escalated its objection to the Union Government instead of resolving it directly with the High Court. The High Court's Division Bench had upheld its own selection process and rejected the State's objections.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that where statutory recruitment rules are silent on a particular procedural detail (like separate cut-offs for written and interview marks), the High Court, as the body responsible for supervising subordinate judicial appointments, can validly supplement the rules through its administrative resolutions, provided this doesn't conflict with the Rules themselves. It found the 50% independent cut-off for both the written test and viva voce to be a reasonable safeguard ensuring candidates have both theoretical knowledge and practical application ability. The Court also held that consultation on judicial appointments must remain strictly between the High Court and the State Government, and the State could not bypass this by referring the dispute to the Union Government. Finding no legal infirmity in the High Court's process, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals and upheld the High Court's judgment.

Lesson Learnt

High Courts have the constitutional authority to fill procedural gaps in judicial service recruitment rules through their administrative resolutions, and disputes over judicial appointments between a High Court and a State Government must be resolved through direct consultation between the two, not escalated elsewhere.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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