Justice Kait to be new CJ of J&K & Ladakh HC
*Justice Rabstan to be new CJ of Meghalaya
Neeraj Rohmetra
Jammu, July 11: The Supreme Court Collegium today recommended the appointment of Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice R Mahadevan as Judges of the Apex Court.
Moreover, the Collegium has recommended Justice Suresh Kait, Judge High Court of Delhi, as new Chief Justice of High Court of J&K and Ladakh and Justice Tashi Rabstan, Judge of J&K and Ladakh High Court, as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.
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The Collegium of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, considered the names of the Chief Justices of various High Courts and of senior Judges in the High Courts.
“Justice Singh’s appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first Judge from the State of Manipur to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court”, read the SC Collegium resolution passed today.
“Considering the candidature of Justice N Kotiswar Singh in terms of his judicial performance, administrative acumen, integrity and merit, the Collegium is of the view that he is eminently suitable for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court,” the resolution said.
The resolution further added that the appointment of Justice Mahadevan, who belongs to a backward community from the State of Tamil Nadu, will bring diversity to the Bench.
The other members of the top court collegium are Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy. The Apex Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 34 Judges, including the CJI, has 32 Judges at present.
The factors taken into consideration by the Collegium are the seniority of Judges, merit and performance, integrity, need to ensure diversity in terms of region, gender and community and need for inclusion of the marginalized and backward segments of the community.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, a Senior Judge of the High Court of Delhi, as new Chief Justice of High Court of J&K and Ladakh.
“Justice Kait is a senior Judge of the High Court of Delhi, who was appointed on September 5, 2008. He belongs to the Scheduled Caste category. He is due to retire on May 23, 2025. The Judges of the High Court of Delhi, who are senior to him are due to retire in near future”, the resolution said, adding “bearing in mind the position of Justice Kait in the All India Seniority List, we are of the view that he should be recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of High Court of J&K and Ladakh”.
Justice Kait had obtained Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi and was enrolled as an Advocate in the year 1989. He had been the Panel Lawyer/ Senior Counsel for Union of India, UPSC and Railways. He was appointed as Standing Counsel for Central Government in the year 2004 and continued so till his elevation as Additional Judge of Delhi High Court on September 5,2008.
He became a Permanent Judge of the Delhi High Court on April 12,2013 and assumed charge on April 12,2016 as Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh. Subsequently, on October 8, 2018 Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was transferred back to his parent High Court of Delhi.
The Apex Court Collegium has also recommended Justice Tashi Rabstan, Judge of J&K and Ladakh High Court as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court after the retirement of incumbent CJ Vaidyanathan on August 16.
Justice Rabstan did his Graduation and LL.B from University of Jammu; was enrolled as an Advocate on 6th March 1990 in Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and started practicing in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir & various other High Courts. He was appointed as Additional Judge of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on March 7, 2013 and Permanent Judge on 16.05.2014.
He was appointed as Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on 6th December, 2022.
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