Four judges to SC; CJs for 8 High Courts recommended

Chief Justice of India-led Collegium has recommended for appointment of four judges to the Supreme Court. If cleared by the Centre, the number of judges in Supreme Court would rise to its sanctioned strength of 34.

It has also recommended for appointment of chief justices of eight high courts, including the nomination of Justice L Narayana Swamy, the senior-most Judge from Karnataka High Court, as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

In a resolution made public on Friday, the Collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising four senior-most judges, recommended for elevation of Justice Krishna Murari, Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Chief Justice, Rajasthan HC, Justice V Ramasubramanian, Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh and Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Chief Justice, Kerala HC as judges in the top court.

Notably, Justice Bhat, who hailed from Delhi High Court, was not considered for elevation in January, when Justice Sanjiv Khanna, a judge, junior to him in seniority, was elevated to the Supreme Court. He stood at serial number 12 in the combined seniority of high court judges on an all-India basis.

Justice Murari, who stood at serial number five in the combined seniority of High Court judges, hailed from Allahabad High Court. Justice Ramasubramanian is from Madras HC. He stood at number 42 in the combined seniority. Roy was from Gauhati HC and was at number 46 in the seniority list.

The court is currently working with a strength of 30 out of a sanctioned strength of 34.

Earlier the court had a sanctioned strength of only 31, but recently the Centre raised the number by three more judges to make it 34.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to 'The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019' on August 10.

In separate resolutions, Justice Vikram Nath, whose name for appointment as Chief Justice Andhra Pradesh was returned by the Centre, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice Gujarat HC.

Justice J K Maheshwari, senior puisne judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Ajai Lamba, from Punjab and Haryana HC as Chief Justice of the Gauhati HC, Justice Ravi Shankar Jha as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Justice S Manikumar, the senior-most judge from Madras HC, as Chief Justice of Kerala HC.

Justice Indrajit Mahanty, the senior-most judge from Orissa High Court and who at present is functioning, on transfer, in Bombay High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of Rajasthan HC.

In another resolution, the Collegium found Justice Arup Kumar Goswami, the senior-most judge from Gauhati High Court and who has been functioning there since his elevation, suitable for appointment as Chief Justice of Sikkim HC.