The Supreme Court has recommended elevation of Advocates Shailesh Pramod Brahme, Firdosh Phiroze Pooniwalla and Jitendra Shantilal Jain as judges of the Bombay High Court.
A resolution passed by the Collegium on Tuesday said that the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court had given the proposal for elevation of these three lawyers on September 26, 2022.
It further said the file concerning these recommendations was forwarded by the Department of Justice to the Supreme Court on April 26 this year, seven months after the proposal.
The Collegium noted that the Chief Ministers and Governors of the States of Maharashtra and Goa have concurred with the recommendations.
The resolution said the Collegium had recommended the elevation of these three advocates after considering several facts.
Shailesh Pramod Brahme was recommended on noting that he was a competent lawyer with around 30 years practice in civil, criminal, constitutional and service law cases. Nothing adverse has been placed by the Department of Justice in his file.
As regards Firdosh Phiroze Pooniwalla, the Collegium said that while the Intelligence Bureau has said that he has a good personal and professional image, another advocate he used to work under had written an article published in 2020 expressing concerns over the alleged lack of freedom of speech/expression in the country in the last 5-6 years.
However, the Collegium opined that the same did not affect his suitability for judgeship. It further noted that Pooniwalla professed Parsi Zoroastrianism and belonged to a minority community.
With respect to Jitendra Shantilal Jain, the Collegium noted that he has practiced law for over 25 years with specialisation in tax litigation. The Intelligence Bureau flagged some issues regarding his work in the chamber of another senior lawyer 20 years ago. However, on enquiry, the Collegium said that the fact that Jain left the chamber of a senior has no bearing on his ability, competence or integrity.
The High Court of Bombay is currently functioning with 65 judges as opposed to its sanctioned strength of 94 judges.