NEW DELHI, July 11: The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended the appointment of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait as the Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court upon proposed elevation of Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh to the Supreme Court.
A resolution to this effect was passed by the Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and also consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai.
The Collegium noted that Justice Kait is a senior judge of the Delhi High Court and belongs to the Scheduled Caste category.
“Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait is a senior Judge of the High Court of Delhi, who was appointed on 5 September 2008. He belongs to the Scheduled Caste category. Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait ranks at Sl No 5 in the All India Seniority list of High Court Judges, including Chief Justices. He is due to retire on 23 May 2025. The Judges of the High Court of Delhi who are senior to Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait are due to retire in the near future. Bearing in mind the position of Mr Justice Suresh Kumar Kait in the All India Seniority list, the Collegium is of the view that he should be recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” the resolution passed by the Collegium said.
Justice Kait was born in 1963 in Haryana. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi.
Justice Kait served as a Standing Counsel for the Central Government from 2004 till his elevation to the Bench in 2008 as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court.
He was made a permanent judge of the Delhi High Court in 2013, and then transferred to the Telangana High Court in 2016. In 2019, he was transferred back to Delhi High Court. (BarAndBench)