SC Collegium recommends appointment of advocate Tejas Dhirenbhai Karia as Delhi HC judge

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended name of advocate Tejas Dhirenbhai Karia, a domain expert in arbitration, for appointment as a judge in the Delhi High Court.

The Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud approved a recommendation made on October 25, 2023, by the then chief justice of the Delhi High Court in consultation with his two seniormost colleagues.

The three-member SC Collegium also comprised of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai.

The Collegium said, "Our sole consultee-judge is of the view that the candidate is a domain specialist and has practised mainly in the field of arbitration, and his appearances in the high court may not be as many as would be expected, but his appearances in matters of significance before the arbitration tribunals make up for that."

It further said that the inputs provided by the Department of Justice in the file indicate that nothing adverse as to the integrity of the candidate has come to notice.

As far as observation of Department of Justice regarding the age of the candidate is concerned, we are of the view that the candidate fulfils the threshold age criterion of 45 years as on the date of recommendation by the Collegium of the High Court, the Collegium said.

"The candidate is a domain expert in the law of arbitration. The volume of cases on arbitration law requires specialized handling, particularly, in the High Court of Delhi. Karia will prove to be a value addition to the Bench of the High Court of Delhi," it said.

The SC Collegium further noted that Karia has extensive experience in conducting arbitrations, both domestic and international.

"While doing so, a practitioner has to have knowledge of other branches of law, civil procedure, evidence and commercial law. Upon perusing the judgments in the cases which he has argued, it is apparent that Tejas Dhirenbhai Karia has conducted issues of substance before the High Courts and other Courts, including the Supreme Court," it said.