Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has reportedly recommended nine names to the Central government on Tuesday for appointment as judges to the top court. Out of the same, three are women judges. The names include that of B V Nagarathna from the Karnataka High Court and if the recommendations are cleared, could become the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027.
According to the report, the Collegium has recommended the names of two other woman judges – Justice Hima Kohli, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court and and Justice Bela Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court. The Collegium is also said to have picked the name of Senior advocate PS Narsimha, Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Abhay Oka, along with Justices Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwari – the Chief Justices of the Gujarat and Sikkim High Courts respectively. Narasimha, if cleared for appointment by the Central government, will be the ninth lawyer to be appointed directly from the Bar to the Supreme Court. Other names recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court include Justice C T Ravikumar, the second most senior judge of the Kerala High Court, and Justice M M Sundaresh, the third most senior judge of the Madras High Court. Out of the nine, three – Justices Vikram Nath and BV Nagarathna and Senior Advocate PS Narasimha will go on to become the Chief Justice of India.
The recommendation comes after Justice Rohinton Nariman retired from the Supreme Court, who was a Collegium member since March 2019. The Supreme Court is currently functioning with nine vacancies which will rise to ten today with the retirement of Justice Navin Sinha.
