In latest appointments to Allahabad HC, government withholds names of two lawyers - among them the sole Muslim candidate
Although the government cleared the names of 24 judges, it did not approve the names of advocates Adnan Ahmad and Jai Krishna Upadhyay.
The Leaflet
27 September 2025
ON FRIDAY, THE UNION GOVERNMENT appointed as many as 24 judges to the Allahabad High Court. However, it withheld the names of two lawyers, including the sole candidate from the Muslim community, who were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium.
On September 1 this year, the Supreme Court Collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India (‘CJI’) B.R. Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, recommended the names of 12 advocates and 14 judicial officers for their elevation as judges of the Allahabad High Court.
The recommended names also included those of senior advocates at the Supreme Court, Garima Prashad and Swarupama Chaturvedi. Prashad is an Additional Advocate General for Uttar Pradesh in the Supreme Court, while Chaturvedi has been an Additional Advocate General (‘AAG’) for the State of Madhya Pradesh.
Of the 24 newly appointed judges, five are women. The Allahabad High Court has an approved strength of 160 judges, which includes 119 permanent judges and 41 additional judges. As of September 1, the Allahabad High Court was functioning with 84 judges.
Although the government cleared the names of 24 judges, it did not approve the names of advocates Adnan Ahmad and Jai Krishna Upadhyay. It is unclear whether the government has returned these names to the Collegium or simply delayed action on them.
With their names not being cleared by the government, their seniority, if appointed in the future, has been severely compromised, which the Collegium did not desire.
In the Collegium’s recommendation of 27 names, Ahmad’s name was at serial number 2 and Upadhyay’s name was at serial number 8. With their names not being cleared by the government, their seniority, if appointed in the future, has been severely compromised, which the Collegium did not desire.
This has occurred even as CJI Gavai reportedly told the Government to refrain from selectively acting on Collegium recommendations, emphasising that appointments and transfers should not be cleared in installments or by segregating names.
The Modi government has been following a policy of picking and choosing, despite the Supreme Court repeatedly expressing its concerns over the government’s selective implementation of the Collegium’s recommendations.