NEW DELHI, Jan 31:
The Supreme Court Collegium today recommended to the Centre the names of Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Aravind Kumar for elevation as apex court judges.
While all six members of the Collegium, led by CJI DY Chandrachud, were unanimous in recommending the name of Justice Bindal, Justice K M Joseph had reservation on the name of Justice Kumar, according to a resolution uploaded on the apex court website.
The Apex Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges including the CJI, is functioning with 27 Judges presently.
“The resolution of the Collegium in regard to the appointment of Mr Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is unanimous. However, in regard to the appointment of Mr Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat, Justice K M Joseph has expressed his reservations on the ground that his name can be considered at a later stage,” the resolution said.
Besides the CJI and Justice Joseph, the Collegium also comprises Justices S K Kaul, M R Shah, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna.
The Collegium had on December 13 recommended five judges — Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice, Rajasthan High Court; Justice Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice, Patna High Court; Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Chief Justice, Manipur High Court; Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Judge, Patna High Court; and 5. Justice Manoj Misra, Judge, Allahabad High Court — for elevation to the Apex court.
The Centre is yet to accept and notify these names, and the Collegium clarified on Tuesday these judges “shall have precedence over these two names recommended presently for appointment to the Supreme Court”.
“Therefore, the appointments of five judges recommended on December 13, 2022 should be notified separately and earlier in point of time before the two judges recommended by this resolution,” the Collegium said on Tuesday.
In its meeting held on Tuesday, the Collegium said, it deliberated on the names of chief justices and senior puisne judges of high courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court.
“Judgments authored by those falling in the zone of consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court were circulated among the members of the Collegium for a meaningful discussion on and assessment of their judicial acumen,” it said. (PTI)
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