By IANS
New Delhi : Justice Jagdish Bhalla, accused by three eminent jurists of impropriety and misconduct, has been named the chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
President Pratibha Patil has formally approved the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation to elevate Justice Bhalla, law ministry sources said Wednesday.
When contacted, the president’s Press Secretary Archna Dutta refused to confirm or deny the development, saying: “No comments. Ask the law ministry.”
Currently officiating as the chief justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court, Justice Bhalla’s elevation was recommended by the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan in mid-November last year.
Soon after the apex court collegium reommendation, three eminent jurists – former law ministers Shanti Bhushan, Ram Jethmalani and Fali S. Nariman – wrote to all political parties seeking to initiate a parliamentary proceeding for his dismissal from the judicial service.
The jurists in a jointly signed statement accused Justice Bhalla of serious judicial impropriety and misconduct.