Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Ramakrishna said on Friday (August 15, 2025) on the 79th Independence Day that the Supreme Court and the High Court are not superior or low from each other. He said that the Supreme Court collegium cannot instruct the collegium of a High Court to recommend a particular name for the post of judge.

According to the PTI report, he also clarified that both the Supreme Court and the High Court are constitutional institutions and no one is superior to each other. Justice Gawai was addressing a function organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on the occasion of Independence Day. In the program, SCBA President Vikas Singh urged the Supreme Court Collegium to consider the names of the Supreme Court lawyers for appointment as the judges of the High Court, even if he has not advocated there.

CJI Gavai said, “The Supreme Court’s collegium cannot also direct the High Court Collegium to recommend the names … The Supreme Court is not superior to the High Court.” He said, ‘Both the Supreme Court and the High Court are constitutional courts and as far as the constitutional system are concerned, they are neither inferior to each other nor the superior, so the first decision on the appointment of judges is to be taken by the High Court Collegium.’

CJI Gawai said, “We only recommend the names to the High Court Collegium and request them to consider the names and when they are satisfied that the candidates are eligible for appointment, only then their names come to the Supreme Court.”

He said that when former Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna was its head, the Supreme Court Collegium started the practice of negotiations with the candidates and it proved to be really helpful. Justice Gawai said that after 10 minutes, 15 minutes or half an hour of conversation with the candidates, the Supreme Court Collegium can find out how suitable they would be for contribution to society.