The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Delhi High Court Justice Sanjiv Khanna for elevation to the top court, PTI reported on Friday.
The collegium – comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices AK Sikri, SA Bobde, NV Ramana and Arun Mishra – took the decision at a meeting on Thursday. The Supreme Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 31 judges, currently has five vacancies.
“The Collegium is of the considered view that at present the following persons are more deserving and suitable in all respects than other Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of High Courts, for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India,” the collegium said in its order dated January 10.
Maheshwari was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in 2004 and transferred to the Allahabad High Court in 2014. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court in February 2016 and then transferred to the Karnataka High Court in February 2018. “Justice Dinesh Maheshwari stands at Sl. No. [serial number] 21 in the combined seniority of High Court Judges on all-India basis,” the order said.
Khanna was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and has been functioning there since then. “He stands at Sl.No. 33 in the combined seniority of High Court Judges on all-India basis,” the collegium said. “The Collegium while recommending the name of Mr. Justice Sanjiv Khanna for elevation to the Supreme Court is well conscious of his seniority position in the Delhi High Court also.”
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