The Supreme Court on Monday deferred the hearing on the plea filed by Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA) against the Centre’s delay in clearing the name of Justice Akil A Kureshi as Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has listed the matter for further hearing on August 2.

At today’s hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that the Centre is considering the Justice Akil A Kureshi’s elevation and under process and sought two weeks’ time to place the Centre’s response before it.

Senior Advocate F S Nariman appearing for GHCAA said the Centre should clarify if it has sought the opinion of the Madhya Pradesh government on the matter.

In the previous hearing, the apex court had asked GHCAA to provide a copy of the plea to Mehta for helping in the matter.

In the plea, the association has requested the apex court to direct the Centre to implement the Collegium’s resolution of May 10 recommending the name of Justice Kureshi as the most suitable candidate to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

It may be recalled that the Centre’s had disregarded the Collegium’s resolution thereby notifying the appointment of Ravi Shanker Jha as the acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court last month after Justice Sanjay Kumar Seth had retired on June 9.

—India Legal Bureau