Chief of HC Advocates’ Panel Ridicules Discrimination in Elevation of Judges

Hyderabad: The president of Telangana High Court Advocates Association (THCAA) Palle Nageshwar Rao on Friday alleged discrimination against advocates belonging to the marginalised and minority communities in the elevation of judges of the High Court.

Rao was delivering the presidential speech during the Republic Day celebrations on the premises of the Telangana High Court, in which HC collegium members, including the Chief Justice and other judges, were present.

Stating that the first president of the High Court in Hyderabad advocates association belonged to the SC community, he alleged that whether it was AP or Telangana High Courts, elevation of deserving advocates from marginalised communities was on the decline.

‘If the candidate is young, then his age is cited as the reason for denying him or her the opportunity to be elevated as a judge of the High Court. If he is around 50 then he will not be elevated till he crosses 55 years of age, only to be told later that the individual was past the age limit,” Nageshwar Rao said.

“Ironically, these parameters are not applied when it comes to candidates from the privileged sections. The constitution exhorts us to ensure that bright talents from the weaker sections are protected and nurtured, but the reality is diametrically opposite to this,” he said.

He said that the most unfortunate aspect was that people who had no faith in the success of constitutional governance had led from these legal bodies, barring a few exceptions.

Posing a question to the collegium, which recommends the names of advocates as judges, Nageshwar Rao said, “We are not asking for alms or seeking anybody's mercy. Let us place our achievements in public space threadbare. Let them explain how the collegium choices are more competent than us”.