SC collegium recommends five names for judgeship in four HCs
New Delhi, Jan 5: The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has recommended five names to the Centre for appointment as additional judges in four high courts.
The collegiums, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, also recommended the names of additional judges -- justices Rahul Bharti and Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, both from the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, for appointment as permanent judges.
One of the recommendations said additional judge Justice Abhay Ahuja be also considered for appointment as permanent judge in the Bombay High Court.
Several collegiums resolutions, uploaded Thursday night on apex court website, provided details of the deliberations leading to recommendations of names of judicial officers and advocates for judgeship in high courts.
"The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the name of Smt. Chaitali Chatterjee (Das), Judicial Officer, for appointment as Judge of the High Court at Calcutta in the following terms...," one of the resolutions said.
It also forwarded the names of Arvind Kumar Verma, a judicial officer, for appointment as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh.
Another resolution asked the Centre to consider appointing Rohit Kapoor, an advocate, as a judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
"The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of (i) Ms Shamima Jahan, Advocate and (ii) Ms Yarenjungla Longkumer, Judicial Officer, for appointment as Judges of the Gauhati High Court...," it said.
While making the recommendations, the apex court collegiums made clear that the seniority of those, whose names were recommended prior to Kapoor for appointment as judges of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, be not disturbed.
"The Collegium further resolves to recommend that two advocates namely S/Shri (i) Harmeet Singh Grewal and (ii) Deepinder Singh Nalwa, whose names have been approved by this Collegium earlier in point of time i.e. on 17 October 2023, be given precedence in the matter of appointment over Shri Rohit Kapoor. The inter se seniority of all the three Advocates be fixed as per the existing practice," it said.
The collegiums took assistance of consultee apex court judges besides considering the inputs of respective governments and the professional competence of persons before recommending the names for judgeship.
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ED cracks down on suspected interstate liquor racket, raids 9 sites in Arunachal
Itanagar (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has carried out coordinated searches at nine locations across Arunachal Pradesh in connection with a suspected large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network, officials said on Monday.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an expanding probe that points to a syndicate exploiting tax differentials among states.
Officials said liquor designated for sale within Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly diverted and supplied illegally to markets in Assam and other states.
The searches, conducted earlier this week, spanned multiple towns such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Seppa, Ziro, Daporijo, Namsai and Roing, targeting wholesale liquor businesses suspected of being linked to the network.
According to officials, the investigation stems from a series of FIRs registered by Assam Police over the illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam.
Inputs from the Assam Excise Department further strengthened the case. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on October 17, 2024, and later widened through an addendum incorporating 173 additional FIRs.
Earlier searches conducted on February 4 last year, at premises linked to three alleged key operators, believed to be major liquor manufacturers, had revealed indications of a well-coordinated operation.
Investigators suspect that the network functioned through a chain of manufacturers, bonded warehouses and wholesalers, while masking real ownership using proxy arrangements such as tribal partnerships and dummy licence holders.
During the latest ED operations, the agency found that several wholesale units were operating under proxy licences issued in the names of local individuals, while actual control remained with the suspected masterminds.
Financial scrutiny revealed that between 51 and 90 per cent of total credits in certain bank accounts comprised unexplained cash deposits.
Investigators also flagged a pattern of invoice splitting, with transactions deliberately kept below Rs 2 lakh to avoid scrutiny. In one instance, more than 200 invoices of identical value of Rs 1,99,554 were generated within a single month at one location.
On-ground staff reportedly confirmed that records, including stock registers and daily cash collections, were being routed to offices associated with the alleged controllers.
The ED said it seized approximately Rs 40 lakh in unaccounted cash during the searches.
In a significant finding, 14 seals, some purportedly belonging to the Excise Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government, were recovered from one of the premises. These are suspected to have been used to create fake transport permits to facilitate the unauthorised movement of liquor.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
