Supreme Court collegium recommends elevation of four judges, senior advocate for top court
New Delhi, May 27
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended five names to the Centre for appointment as judges of the apex Court.
The Collegium recommended Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, and senior advocate V Mohana.
The recommendation was made at the Collegium meetings held on May 22 and 27.
The elevation of senior advocate Mohana is expected to strengthen women's representation in the Supreme Court, which currently has only one woman judge, Justice BV Nagarathna. No woman has been appointed to the apex court since August 2021.
The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court was recently increased by four, taking the total number of judges, including the Chief Justice of India, to 38.
At present, the Supreme Court is functioning with 32 judges, while two more vacancies will arise in June following the retirement of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Pankaj Mithal.
The Supreme Court Collegium deals with the appointment and transfer of judges to the Supreme Court and the various High Courts. The system evolved through a series of landmark verdicts collectively known as the "Three Judges Cases."
Under the current structure, the Supreme Court Collegium consists of the CJI and the four senior-most judges, while a High Court Collegium is headed by the incumbent Chief Justice of that court along with its two senior-most judges.
The process of appointment or transfer is initiated by the respective Collegium. Following the initiation, the proposals for High Court appointments are reviewed by the Supreme Court Collegium and the CJI. Following the review, these recommendations are sent to the Union Law Minister. The Minister then presents these recommendations to the Prime Minister and the President for final approval.
If the central government returns a recommendation for reconsideration, and the Collegium unanimously reiterates its initial decision, the government is constitutionally bound to approve the appointment.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting timing—four new judges and two retiring in June. So net addition of two? Also why is the Collegium still making these decisions? Shouldn't the government have more say? In the US, the President nominates judges. This opaque club of judges deciding their own successors seems archaic.
V Mohana's elevation is long overdue. Since 2021, not one woman was appointed—that's almost three years. The Collegium should be ashamed. But kudos to them for finally acting. Let's hope she doesn't face the same isolation as Justice Nagarathna.
Also, will this speed up case disposal? We need efficiency, not just more judges.
Every time I see 'Collegium recommends' I wonder how long this tussle with the government will last. The recent judge appointments have been delayed for months. I hope this time the Law Ministry clears them quickly. Justice delayed is justice denied—even for judges themselves. 🙏
Respectful criticism: The Collegium system lacks transparency. We don't know why these five were chosen over others. But having more Chief Justices moving up is good for institutional memory. Hopefully, this reduces the backlog of 70,000+ cases in the Supreme Court.
Nice to see Justice Sheel Nagu recognized—he has a good reputation in Punjab & Haryana HC. But we need more diversity in terms of regional representation too. Too many judges from north India. What about judges from the Northeast or Tamil Nadu? That said, any appointment is better than vacancies.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.