Collegium recommends elevation of three Justices as Supreme Court judges

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday recommended Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Aravind Kumar for elevation as Judges of the top court.

However, the resolution of the Collegium also clarified that in regard to the appointment of Justice Rajesh Bindal is unanimous. However, in regard to the appointment of Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat, Justice KM Joseph has expressed his reservations on the ground that his name can be considered at a later stage. The SC Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud along with justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, KM Joseph, MR Shah, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna made the recommendation.

The Collegium said that they have found both of the judges to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India after carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations.

While recommending the above names the Collegium has taken into consideration the various aspects including the seniority of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges in their respective parent High Courts as well as the overall seniority of the High Court Judges, among others.

Other aspects that were considered were the merit, performance and integrity of the judges, the need to ensure diversity and inclusion in the Supreme Court by the representation of High Courts which are not represented or are inadequately represented, in the Supreme Court, appointing persons from marginalized and backward segments of society, gender diversity and representation of minorities.

"The Collegium resolves to recommend that (i) Mr Justice Rajesh Bindal and (ii) Mr Justice Aravind Kumar, be appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India," the collegium resolution said.

Justice Rajesh Bindal was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 22, 2006. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on October 11, 2021.

"Justice Bindal stands at Sl. No.02 in the combined All-India-seniority of High Court Judges. He is the seniormost Judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court which is one of the largest High Courts with a sanctioned strength of 85 judges are not adequately represented on the Bench of the Supreme Court. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is a common High Court for two States," the collegium resolution said.

Justice Aravind Kumar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on June 26, 2009, and as a permanent Judge on December 7, 2012. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat on October 13, 2021.

"Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.26 in the combined All-India-seniority of High Court Judges. While recommending his name, the Collegium is conscious of the fact that in the seniority of Judges hailing from the Karnataka High Court, Mr Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.02 and that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by two Judges from the Karnataka High Court," the collegium resolution said.

The Supreme Court of India has a sanctioned strength of 34 Judges and is presently functioning with 27 Judges. Thus, there are seven clear vacancies, the collegium observed.

On December 13, 2022, the Collegium recommended five names for appointment as Judges of the Supreme Court, namely Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Manoj Misra. Their appointment is yet to be notified by the Government.

The Collegium said it resolves to recommend two more names for appointment as Judges of the Supreme Court against the two remaining vacancies.

"The names recommended earlier by the Collegium by its resolution dated December 13, 2022, shall have precedence over the 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 resolution said. (ANI)

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