The Supreme Court collegium on Friday reiterated its recommendation to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to the top court, Bar and Bench reported. A five-member collegium comprising the seniormost judges of the Supreme Court said it was reiterating Joseph’s name for the elevation the Centre had “nothing adverse to say” regarding his suitability in its letters to the chief justice of India, while returning the recommendation.
A five-member collegium led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had recommended the names of 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 had deferred a 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 – a member of the collegium that made the recommendation in January who retired in June – wrote to Misra in May saying that the collegium must reiterate its recommendation to elevate Joseph to the top court at the earliest.
On Friday, the collegium also recommended the appointment of Indira Banerjee, chief justice of Madras High Court, and Vineet Saran – the chief justice of Orissa – to the top court.
Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Gita Mittal will be appointed the chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The collegium also recommended the appointment of Justice Aniruddha Bose of Calcutta High Court as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, ANI reported.
While Justice Hrishikesh Roy of the Gauhati High Court was recommended for the post of chief justice of Kerala High Court, Justice VK Tahilramani of the Bombay High Court was recommended for the post of chief justice of Madras High Court. The collegium also recommended the appointment of Justice MR Shah of Gujarat High Court to be appointed as the chief justice of Patna High Court.
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