The Supreme Court collegium on Wednesday deferred its decision to reiterate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph’s elevation to the Supreme Court, reports said. This is the third time the panel has deferred its decision on the matter.
The meeting was attended by all five collegium members – Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph.
On May 11, the collegium had unanimously agreed to reiterate its recommendation to elevate Joseph.
The collegium had recommended Joseph and lawyer Indu Malhotra for elevation as Supreme Court judges in January. After sitting on the proposal for over three months, the law ministry notified Malhotra’s appointment on April 26, but refused to clear Joseph’s name, and asked the top court to reconsider its decision.
On May 2, the collegium of five most-senior judges of the Supreme Court deferred the decision on reiterating its earlier recommendation to elevate Joseph to the top court.
Joseph was part of a two-judge bench that had struck down the Centre’s decision to impose President’s rule in Uttarakhand in March 2016. Justice Jasti Chelameswar on May 9 wrote to Dipak Misra saying that the collegium must reiterate its recommendation to elevate Joseph to the top court at the earliest.
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