NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended the names of Justice N Kotiswar Singh from Manipur and Justice R Mahadevan for elevation as judges of the top court.
The decisions by the Collegium came as two vacancies arose in view of retirement of SC judges Justice Aniruddha Bose on April 10, 2024 and Justice A S Bopanna on May 19, 2024.
Justice Singh, who hailed from Manipur, is at present the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Justice Mahadevan belonged to the Madras High Court. He is at present acting chief justice of the Madras High Court and belonged to a backward community.
Notably, the Collegium is headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and also comprised four senior most judges namely Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy.
According to the Memorandum of Procedure, the Union government has to approve the names before issuance of notification on their appointments.
In its statement, the Collegium said appointment of Singh as a judge of the Supreme Court will provide
representation to the North-East.
"In particular, he will be the first judge from the State of Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the
Supreme Court," it said.
The Collegium said Singh has an impeccable record, both in judicial capacity and in terms of the work rendered by him on the administrative side, as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
"Considering the candidature of Justice Singh in terms of his judicial performance, administrative acumen, integrity and merit, the Collegium is of the
view that he is eminently suitable for being appointed as a Judge of
the Supreme Court," it said.
Regarding Justice Mahadevan, the Collegium noted he belonged to a backward community from Tamil Nadu. "His appointment will bring diversity to the bench," it said.
The Collegium also pointed out Justice Mahadevan ranked third in the order of presently serving judges of the Madras High Court including the judges who have been posted as Chief Justices outside the Madras High Court.
"At this stage, the Collegium has given precedence to the candidature of Justice Mahadevan in order to give representation to the backward community," it stressed.
[Read Order]
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