Sadiq Wasim Nargal to be the first Muslim judge from Jammu: Who he is and why his elevation was delayed

The Centre is set to approve the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation to appoint senior advocate Sadiq Wasim Nargal as judge of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) High Court. It is the oldest pending recommendation by the SC and once cleared Nargal will become the first Muslim judge from Jammu in J&K High Court. 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, according to a report in The Hindustan Times. The long process Nargal 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, a report in ThePrint says. 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. According to the report, there were complaints against Nargal but the Intelligence Bureau gave him a clean chit. 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’s experience 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, reports The Indian Express. He is currently a senior advocate in Jammu and the standing counsel for the University of Kashmir. The impact of the delay 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, according to The Indian Express report. 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. Have other advocates had similar experiences? Senior advocate Amitesh Banerjee was recommended twice as a judge of the Calcutta High Court. He is the son of former Supreme Court judge, Justice UC Banerjee. Another name rejected by the Centre despite being recommended three times by the collegium is Shakya Sen. When he was first recommended in 2017, he had not yet turned 45, the minimum age for a high court judge, reports Scroll.in. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.