The Center had faced tough questions from the top court on the subject a day earlier.
New Delhi:
Nearly two months after recommending the names of five judges to the Supreme Court, the Center on Saturday approved the names of five judges amid a long-standing tussle between the executive and the judiciary over the process of appointments.
Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal, Patna High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, Manipur High Court Chief Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, Patna High Court Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Allahabad High Court Justice Manoj Mishra will now be a judge of the Supreme Court,
Facing tough questions from the top court, the Center a day earlier promised that the pending recommendations of a panel of judges, known as the collegium, for elevation of five high court judges would be cleared by Sunday.
Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka expressed displeasure over the delay in approving recommendations for transfer of high court judges, terming it a “very serious issue” and warned that any delay in the matter would result in administrative and judicial problems. Both types of action can happen. Be “very uncomfortable”.
Asked about the status of the Supreme Court Collegium’s recommendations to the apex court during the hearing on two petitions, Attorney General R Venkataramani said the warrant for the appointment of five judges is expected to be issued in two days.
As per the provisions under the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President of India has appointed the following Chief Justices and Judges of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court.
I wish them all the best. pic.twitter.com/DvtBTyGV42— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 4, 2023
Referring to the delay in approving transfers of high court judges, the apex court had said, “Let us not take any stand which will be very inconvenient… You will take some very difficult decisions from us.” ,
The collegium system has become a major flashpoint between the Supreme Court and the Centre, with the mechanism for appointment of judges by judges sparking an intense debate that, in a departure from tradition, has seen sharp remarks by Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.
The collegium, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, had recommended five judges for elevation to the Supreme Court on December 13 last year.
Later, on 31 January, the collegium also recommended the names of Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Arvind Kumar as judges of the Supreme Court.
While recommending the two names earlier this week, the collegium had said, “The names suggested earlier by the collegium vide its resolution dated December 13, 2022 shall have precedence over the two names currently recommended for appointment to the Supreme Court.”
The apex court, which has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges including the Chief Justice, is currently functioning with 27 judges.