SC Collegium reiterates elevation of two judges objected to by government; sends two more names for promotion

Justice Gavai is presently a judge of the Bombay High Court and Justice Kant is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The collegium for the appointment of judges on Thursday resent names of two justices to the government for elevation to the Supreme Court, days after the Centre had returned the two names .

The collegium also recommended two more names for promotion to the top court -- Justice BR Gavai of Bombay High court and Suya Kant, chief justice Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The Centre had returned the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation to elevate Jharkhand high court Chief Justice Aniruddha Bose and Gauhati high court Chief Justice AS Bopanna, asking the body to reconsider its decision.

Justice Bose, whose parent high court is Calcutta, is at number 12 in the all-India seniority of judges. Justice Bopanna, whose parent high court is Karnataka, stands at number 36.

This is not the first time the disagreement and the judiciary have disagreed over the appointment of judges. Last April, the Centre returned a file recommending justice KM Joseph’s appointment, which was first cleared by the collegium in January 2018. The government contended that justice Joseph was not senior enough and that the Kerala high court, his parent HC, was adequately represented.

His name was reiterated by the collegium in July, eventually leading to the government clearing his appointment. The seniority issue is particularly important if a judge is line to become the future CJI.