The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday, 17 August, is reported to have come up with a list of of nine judges to be recommended for appointment to the apex court.
In a first, the collegium is supposed to have cleared the names of three women judges, including that of Karnataka High Court justice BV Nagarathna, who, if appointed, is expected to assume the post of the Chief Justice of India in 2027 — becoming the first woman to do so.
Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court Hima Kohli and Justice Bela Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court are the other two women judges who have been included on the list, The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and Bar and Bench reported.
'Irresponsible Reporting': CJI Ramana Criticises Media Reports
It was clarified by Bar and Bench, however, that the resolution putting these names forward had not been signed and finalised. And following the news being made public, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana (who heads the collegium) has criticised the media reports that put out this information.
"On this occasion I want to take the liberty to express my concern about certain speculations and reports in the media," he said in comments made during the farewell reference for Justice Navin Sinha, who is retiring from the Supreme Court on 18 August.
"Today’s reflections in some sections of the media, pending the process, even before formalising the resolution is counter productive. There were instances of deserving career progression of bright talents getting marred because of such irresponsible reporting and speculation. This is very unfortunate and I am extremely upset about it."CJI Ramana
The Other Reported Recommendations
Senior advocate PS Narasimha has been recommended by the collegium for a direct appointment to the bench from the bar.
The other recommendations to the Supreme Court include Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Vikram Nath, Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, justice CT Ravikumar from Kerala High Court, and CT Ravikumar from Kerala high Court, HT reported.
The collegium's recommendations come days after Justice Rohinton Nariman, a member of the committee, retired from the Supreme Court. Justice Nariman had insisted on the priority appointment of Karnataka Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Tripura Justice Akil Kureshi — the seniormost members on the all-India list, which had hindered the collegium from arriving at a consensus, The Indian Express reported.
Justice Kureshi's name is not among the reported list of 9.
The recommendations, if accepted, would elevate the court's strength to 33, following the retirement of Justice Navin Sinha.
(With inputs from Bar and Bench, The Indian Express and The Hindustan Times)
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