SC collegium recommends 68 names for appointment of 12 HC judges

The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana, has recommended 68 names, including 44 advocates and 24 judicial officers, for appointment as judges in 12 high courts of the country. The three-member Collegium, which includes Justices U U Lalit and Justice A M Khanwilkar, in its meetings held on August 25 and September 1, considered as many as 112 candidates for elevation as judges in high courts. This round of recommendations witnessed yet another historic first.

“Among those 68 cleared for twelve high courts, 44 are from the Bar and 24 are from the judicial service,” they said. The recommendation comes at a time that the high courts are facing a sever crunch of judges. Sixty-eight judges, if cleared by the Centre, will be appointed in high courts at Allahabad, Rajasthan, Calcutta, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Madras, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Assam. In the meetings held recently, the Supreme Court’s Collegium considered the names of 112 candidates – 82 from the Bar and 31 from the Judicial Service. The SC Collegium has recommended the name of 10 women for elevation as judges, including a female judicial officer Marli Vankung for elevation to the Gauhati High Court. She might become the first-ever High Court Judge from Mizoram. The Collegium sought further details about 16 candidates whose names were considered in the meetings of the Collegium.