The Supreme Court Collegium recommended the appointment of Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan as an additional judge at Bombay High Court.
The Collegium bench of Bombay High Court recommended the name of Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan on October 04, 2021.
The Supreme Court Collegium bench recommended the name of Somasekhar Sundaresan for appointment as a Judge of the Bombay High Court on February16, 2022.
The objection raised by the Centre was that he has aired his views in the social media on several matters which are the subject matter of consideration before the courts.
The Supreme Court Collegium bench reiterated with regards to the appointment of Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan as an additional judge at Bombay High Court in January 2023 that the manner in which the candidate has expressed his views does not justify the inference that he is a ‘highly biased opinionated person’ or that he has been ‘selectively critical on the social media on the important policies, initiatives and directions of the Government as it has been indicated in the objections of Department of Justice and nor is there any material to indicate that the expressions used by the candidate are suggestive of his links with any political party with strong ideological leanings.
The Supreme Court Collegium bench comprising of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph held that all the citizens have the right to free speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, thus, the expression the views by a candidate does not disentitle him to hold a constitutional office so long as the person proposed for judgeship is a person of competence, merit, and integrity.
It has also been noted that the Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan was a member of the recent Expert Committee constituted by the Supreme Court to review India’s regulatory mechanism in the light of Adani-Hindenburg issue.
