The President approved all nine names, including three women, recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium and accepted by the government for appointment as judges of the top court. The judges will take oath on August 31.
The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended nine names, including three women judges, to the Centre and all have been cleared. The government’s nod to appoint nine judges comes a week after the Supreme Court collegium, ending a nearly two-year-long impasse, sent its recommendations. Justice BV Nagarathna, one of the women judges recommended, is in line to become the first Chief Justice of India, a landmark in the country’s judicial history. The names reportedly include eight judges and one lawyer from the Supreme Court Bar. They are: Karnataka High Court Chief Justice AS Oka; Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Vikram Nath; Sikkim Chief Justice JK Maheshwari; Telangana Chief Justice Hima Kohli; Justice BV Nagarathna of the Karnataka High Court; Kerala High Court Judge, Justice CT Ravikumar; Madras High Court Judge, Justice MM Sundresh; Gujarat High Court Judge Justice Bela M Trivedi; and Senior Advocate PS Narasimha. The Supreme Court, which has 25 judges against a sanctioned strength of 34, will be left with only one vacancy after the new judges are sworn in.
It is probably the first time that nine names have been recommended for the Supreme Court and all have been approved by the government.
