Chief Justice Dipak Misra is likely to take up the question of Justice KM Joseph’s seniority with the Union government after a few judges raised the matter with him on Monday morning, people in the Supreme Court with knowledge of the matter told Scroll.in. The chief justice is also likely to consult Attorney General KK Venugopal on the matter.
The appointment notification of three judges – Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran and KM Joseph – has placed Joseph in third position, despite the fact that he was first recommended for elevation in January, way before the other two.
The Supreme Court judges discussed the matter with Justice Misra just before it sat for its routine proceedings on Monday morning. Persons in the know said the judges wanted Joseph to get his due position in the seniority list.
The Supreme Court collegium had recommended Joseph for elevation in January. But the Centre returned his file, arguing that he was junior to several other High Court chief justices who were waiting for a call to the apex court. It also said Joseph’s parent High Court of Kerala is already adequately represented.
However, the Supreme Court registry, which put out a circular on Saturday on the swearing-in placing Joseph third on the list of judges to take oath, has not modified the event’s schedule yet.
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