In the midst of a protracted dispute between the administration and the judiciary over the appointment process, the centre on Saturday cleared the names of five judges for the Supreme Court, nearly two months after they had been proposed.
Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal, Patna High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, Manipur High Court Chief Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, Patna High Court judge Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Allahabad High Court judge Manoj Misra will now be Supreme Court judges.
Centre clears 5 new Supreme Court Judges
The Supreme Court currently has 27 judges on the bench, down from its sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice.
The centre, which was being grilled by the top court, had earlier guaranteed that the suggestions of the collegium, a group of judges, for the elevation of five justices to the high court, would be resolved by Sunday.
Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka expressed their displeasure with the delay in approving recommendations for the transfer of high court judges, describing it as a “very serious issue,” and they cautioned that any further delay could lead to administrative and judicial actions that could be “very uncomfortable.”
During a hearing on two petitions, Attorney General R Venkataramani was asked about the status of the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendations for the highest court. He responded that the warrant for the appointment of five judges is anticipated to be issued in two days.
The supreme court made the following statements in response to the lengthy process of accepting the transfers of high court judges: “Don’t make us take a stand which will be very uncomfortable… You will make us take some very, very difficult decisions.”
Collegium becomes flashpoint between Centre and States
The collegium system has caused significant friction between the Supreme Court and the government because of the way judges choose other judges. Breaking with precedent, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has made scathing remarks in the debate.
On December 13 of last year, the collegium presided by by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud recommended the five judges for promotion to the Supreme Court.
Later, on January 31, the collegium recommended Rajesh Bindal of the Allahabad High Court and Aravind Kumar of the Gujarat High Court for promotion as Supreme Court judges.
The Collegium had stated, “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.”
The Supreme Court currently has 27 judges on the bench, down from its sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice.
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