The Law Ministry on Thursday notified the appointment of advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan, whose elevation was initially opposed by the Centre because of his critical social media posts, as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court.
In a post on X, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President of India, after consultation with Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Somasekhar Sundaresan, Advocate as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court”.
In February last year, the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended Mr. Sundaresan as a judge of the Bombay High Court.
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However, in November 2022, the government asked the Collegium to reconsider its recommendation. The Centre found Mr. Sundaresan a “highly opinionated person” who was “selectively critical on social media on the important policies, initiatives, and directions of the government”.
But the Collegium stood firm and reiterated their recommendation for the elevation of Mr. Sundaresan, telling the government there was “no material to indicate that the expressions used by the candidate [Sundaresan] are suggestive of his links with any political party with strong ideological leanings”. Whatever he said on social media was anyway part of public debate, the Collegium had reasoned.
Mr. Sundaresan was a part of the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee which recently gave its report in the Adani-Hindenburg case.
