On Monday, the Supreme Court collegium, under the leadership of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, made recommendations for the appointment of three high court chief justices to the Supreme Court. The collegium, consisting of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, and Surya Kant, proposed the names of Chief Justices Satish Chandra Sharma of the Delhi High Court, Augustine George Masih of the Rajasthan High Court, and Sandeep Mehta of the Gauhati High Court to serve as judges in the apex court. If approved by the Centre, the Supreme Court will operate with its full complement of 34 judges.
In its resolution, the collegium highlighted that the Supreme Court is sanctioned to have 34 judges but is currently functioning with only 31 judges, leading to a substantial backlog of cases. Recognizing the mounting caseload and increased workload on judges, the collegium deemed it imperative to ensure a complete roster of working judges without any vacancies. As a result, they decided to recommend candidates to fill the three existing vacancies.
The collegium conducted thorough discussions and evaluations of chief justices and senior puisne judges from various high courts who were eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court. To facilitate meaningful deliberations and assessments, judgments written by those under consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court were distributed to collegium members well in advance.
Additionally, the collegium noted that the Centre for Research and Planning of the Supreme Court has compiled relevant background information to assist in the decision-making process. These recommendations, once approved and implemented, will help address the pressing issue of case backlog and ensure the efficient functioning of the Supreme Court with a full complement of judges.
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