Supreme Court rejects Plea challenging Madras HC Collegium for excluding Justice Nisha Banu

The Supreme Court refused to entertain a writ petition challenging the Madras High Court Collegium’s November 2025 recommendations, holding the matter “not justiciable.” The petition questioned the exclusion of Justice Nisha Banu from the Collegium despite her seniority, a claim the top court deemed an administrative issue outside judicial scrutiny.

Petitioner A. Prem Kumar contended that the Collegium’s recommendations were invalid because Justice Banu, the then second senior judge, was not part of the meeting. Justice Banu had been officially transferred to Kerala High Court on October 14, 2025, but continued functioning in Madras High Court until December 19, 2025.

Senior Advocate Rachna Srivastava argued that the Collegium was wrongly constituted since Justice Banu had not yet assumed her new post, emphasizing, “The composition of the collegium itself was...she continued to be a judge, she had not joined the transferee High Court.”

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi dismissed the petition, underscoring that such matters fall under administrative discretion. CJI Kant observed, “We can only assure you that the Chief Justice of India and the collegium judges are strong enough to take anything...thank you for advising us on that.” The court noted that petitioners should not pursue the matter before the High Court, concluding, “The issue sought to be raised is not justiciable. Such issues are required to be considered by the competent authority on the administrative side.”

The writ petition was formally rejected.