SC Collegium recommends three High Court Chief Justices for elevation to top court

The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended the elevation of three High Court Chief Justices — Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh — as judges of the Supreme Court.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the five-member Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The recommendations will now be processed in accordance with the established procedure for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.

Three names recommended

Justice Sunita Agarwal is currently the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, while Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya heads the Delhi High Court. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh is the Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana.

Justice Agarwal and Justice Upadhyaya have the Allahabad High Court as their parent High Court, while Justice Singh’s parent High Court is the Jharkhand High Court.

Five-member Collegium

Besides CJI Surya Kant, the Collegium that made the recommendations comprised Justices Vikram Nath, B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh and P S Narasimha.

The Collegium’s resolution was issued on Monday following its meeting to consider appointments to the country’s highest court.

Strength could rise

The Supreme Court currently has 34 serving judges, including the Chief Justice of India, against its sanctioned strength of 38. If the Centre clears all three recommendations and the judges are subsequently appointed, the working strength of the top court will increase to 37.

Justice Agarwal’s appointment would also increase the number of women judges in the Supreme Court from two to three.

Appointment process

Under the established procedure, recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium are sent to the Union government for processing. The appointments are subsequently notified after completion of the prescribed process.

The latest recommendations would leave the Supreme Court just one judge short of its sanctioned strength if all three appointments are notified.