Collegium recommends Justice Joseph, two more judges for SC, 5 HC Chief Justices
New Delhi, July 20 : The Supreme Court collegium on Friday reiterated its recommendation to elevate Justice K.M.Joseph - the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court - to the Supreme Court.
Besides separately reiterating the recommendation of Justice Joseph, it also recommended the elevation of Madras High Court Chief Justice, Justice Indira Banarjee and Justice Vineet Saran - the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court to the Supreme Court.
The top court has sanctioned strength of 31 Judges, but is presently functioning with 22 judges.
While recommending the name of Justice Banerjee and Justice Saran, the Collegium said that it has taken into "consideration combined seniority on all-India basis of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of High Courts, apart from their merit and integrity".
Reiterating its recommendation on Justice Joseph, the collegium noted that there was nothing adverse regarding his suitability in the two communications sent by the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad while returning the recommendation for reconsideration.
The collegium also recommended the shifting of Chief Justice of Patna High Court Justice Rajendra Menon as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.
The recommendation of Justice Menon came as the collegium. on reconsideration, superseded its January 10 recommendation to appoint Justice Aniruddha Bose - senior puisne Judge of Calcutta High Court as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court - a recommendation returned by the Centre for reconsideration by the collegium.
Justice Bose has now been recommended to be appointed as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.
The acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice Gita Mittal - since April 2017 - has been recommended to be the Chief Justice of J&K High Court.
While recommending her appointment, the collegium noted that at "present there is only one Chief Justice from Delhi High Court which has the special status of being the High Court for the national capital".
The collegium has also recommended the appointment of Justice M.R. Shah - the senior-most Judge of Gujarat High Court as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court.
Justice V.K. Tahilramani - the senior most Judge from Bombay High Court has been recommended to be the Chief Justice of Madras High Court after it falls vacant on the elevation of Justice Banarjee to the Supreme Court.
While recommending Justice Tahilramani to be the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, the collegiums noted that at present "there is only one Chief Justice from Bombay High Court, which is one of the biggest High Courts with sanctioned Judge-strength of 94 Judges".
The collegium also recommended the confirmation of Justice Hrishikesh Roy, the Acting Chief Justice of Kerala High Court as its permanent Chief Justice.
Justice Roy was the senior-most Judge of Gauhati High Court before he was transferred to become acting Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.
The collegium noted that at "present there is no Chief Justice from Gauhati High Court".
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Kerala polls: Vijayan, Revanth Reddy trade barbs as campaigning ends
Kannur (Kerala)/Hyderabad (PTI): A war of words between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy turned acrimonious on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning for the April 9 Assembly polls.
The two leaders sparred on the virtual world as well, exchanging letters on their respective social media handles.
The escalation came after Vijayan, responding to Reddy's earlier remarks, used Malayalam expressions considered nearly derogatory, signalling strong disapproval of the Telangana CM's comments.
Reddy, campaigning for the UDF in Kollam district, hit back swiftly, likening Vijayan to PM Narendra Modi.
He said he would take any personal remarks from the senior leader as a "blessing" considering his age, but objected to what he described as insults directed at the people of Kerala. "But you cannot abuse our Kerala people," he said, hours before campaigning drew to a close.
The controversy began after Reddy had said "nee po mone Vijaya" by invoking a famous dialogue from superstar Mohanlal's blockbuster movie "Narasimham" while referring to Vijayan on April 1 during a UDF campaign roadshow in Nemom constituency.
Earlier in the day, while reacting to Reddy's earlier remarks, Vijayan said a CM must maintain basic standards of conduct and questioned whether such dignity was being followed.
In his response to a query, Vijayan used Malayalam words that were seen as nearly derogatory for Reddy, signalling his strong disapproval of the remarks made against him.
Sharply reacting to the CM's objectionable remarks, Congress leader V D Satheesan said Vijayan appeared to have "completely lost composure" and warned that any further deterioration in his conduct would have brought "greater embarrassment" to the state.
After the critical remarks during the press meet, Vijayan wrote on his 'X' handle that political differences are natural, but expressing strong disagreement through personally insulting remarks is an attitude that he rejects. Reddy's statements lacked factual backing.
In a detailed letter attached with the 'X' post addressing the Telangana CM, Vijayan said the experience of the people of Kerala was "vastly different" from what Reddy had portrayed.
He clarified that he did not intend to engage in a debate over the performance of the Telangana government, stating that it was for the people of Telangana and political parties there to assess their government.
Referring to Reddy's comments, Vijayan said the LDF government has been consistently publishing progress reports over the past 10 years on the implementation of its election promises, underlining its commitment to continuous accountability.
He also rejected the allegation of "selective appropriation" of Kerala's achievements, including its top ranking in the NITI Aayog SDG Index, and said such criticism was misplaced.
Dismissing claims of industrial stagnation, Vijayan said Kerala has made significant strides in the startup ecosystem and ease of doing business, adding that these achievements have been widely acknowledged.
He also alleged that key infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam Port, faced delays under previous Congress-led governments at the Centre, while long-pending promises such as a railway coach factory remained unfulfilled.
Vijayan further accused the BJP-led Union government of discrimination against Kerala and said the state has been actively resisting what he described as "anti-federal and undemocratic" policies through legal and political means, including approaching the Supreme Court.
He also rejected Reddy's criticism that the LDF was not vocal enough against the BJP, asserting that Kerala has been at the forefront of defending constitutional values.
Concluding his letter, Vijayan reiterated the state government's commitment to building a "Nava Keralam" and moving forward as a model for others.
On April 1, while addressing party workers in Nemom, Reddy used the popular Malayalam film dialogue "Nee po mone Vijaya". He adapted it to target Vijayan, saying "Nee po mone Vijaya".
Reddy went further, claiming that Vijayan's "time is over" and that his "expiry date has passed".
Responding to these allegations, Vijayan had said that the Telangana CM was "misinformed" and accused him of "ridiculing" Kerala and its people while trying to hide the weaknesses of his own state.
In a later response, Reddy defended his remarks and said that many of the statistics cited by Vijayan were taken from the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023 24, arguing that the data was already outdated.
Reddy in his letter questioned the veteran Marxist leader's claim that Kerala would become the first state to completely eradicate extreme poverty by late 2025 had been achieved. Further, he chooses to conduct himself respectfully and gracefully in his criticism of the Kerala government's performance, whereas Vijayan opted to use language of poor taste.
Reddy, in his letter on X, said that while he respects NITI Aayog's corruption rankings, he wants to know why the infamous gold smuggling case, linked to individuals connected to the CMO, remains unresolved, and why 4.5 kg of gold allegedly misappropriated from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has not been accounted for.
