SC Collegium recommends appointment of chief justices for 7 HCs

New Delhi, July 6: The Supreme Court Collegium headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud has recommended the appointments of Chief Justices to the High Courts of Kerala, Orissa, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Telangana and Gujarat.

Apart from the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the Collegium in the top court includes Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant.

Justice Ashish J. Desai, Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, has been recommended for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court. A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala would arise consequent upon elevation of Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti to the Supreme Court.

Justice Ashish J. Desai was appointed as a Judge of the Gujarat High Court in November 2011. He is the senior-most puisne Judge in his parent High Court and is the present Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court. While recommending his name, the Collegium said that it has taken into consideration the fact that the High Court of Gujarat presently has no representation among the Chief Justices of the High Courts.

Justice Subhasis Talapatra, judge of the Orissa High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa would arise in August 2023 consequent upon retirement of Dr Justice S. Muralidhar.

The Collegium recommended the name of Justice Subhasis Talapatra, the senior-most Judge from the Tripura High Court, for appointment as Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.

"He has been functioning, on transfer, in the High Court of Orissa since June 10, 2022. He has acquired considerable experience of dispensing justice in two High Courts," the statement issued by the Collegium said.

It added that, "since its inception in 2013, the High Court of Tripura till date has not got representation among the Chief Justices of the High Courts. Having regard to all relevant factors, the collegium is of the considered view that Mr Justice Subhasis Talapatra is fit and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa."

Justice Siddharth Mridul, judge of the Delhi High Court, has been recommended for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court. The office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur fell vacant in February 2023 consequent upon the elevation of Justice P. V. Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court of India.

Justice Siddharth Mridul was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Delhi in March 2008 and has been functioning as the senior-most puisne Judge in his parent High Court.

The statement of the Collegium noted that its earlier recommendation for elevation of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur has been pending with the government. Now, Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur has been recommended for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur, a judge of the Bombay High Court, has been recommended for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh fell vacant on May 19  consequent upon the elevation of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra to the Supreme Court.

Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir in 2013 and is the senior-most Judge in his parent High Court. In June 2022, he was transferred to the Bombay High Court and has been functioning there since then.

"On appointment of Mr Justice Thakur, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh would get representation amongst the Chief Justices of the High Courts," read the Collegium statement.

The earlier recommendation made by the Collegium in February 2023 for elevation of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur as Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur has been pending with the government and was not acted upon by it.

Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay has arisen recently consequent upon retirement of Justice Ramesh D. Dhanuka.

Justice D.K. Upadhyaya was appointed as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court in 2011 and is a senior puisne Judge in his parent High Court. He has acquired experience of more than 11 years in dispensing justice in the largest High Court in the country.

Justice Alok Aradhe, a judge of the Karnataka High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court. A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana would arise consequent upon the elevation of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan to the Supreme Court.

Justice Alok Aradhe is a senior puisne Judge in his parent High Court of Madhya Pradesh. He has been functioning as a Judge of the Karnataka High Court since November 2018.

He has acquired experience of more than 13 years in dispensing justice in two large High Courts in the country.

Justice Sunita Agarwal, judge of the Allahabad High Court, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.

In its statement published on Wednesday, the Collegium said that Justice Sunita Agarwal would be the only woman Chief Justice of a High Court as presently there is no woman among the Chief Justices of the High Courts.

A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat has arisen consequent upon the retirement of Justice Sonia G. Gokani.

Justice Sunita Agarwal is the senior-most puisne Judge at the Allahabad High Court and has an experience of more than 11 years in dispensing justice in the largest High Court in the country. She has been functioning there since her elevation and has acquired experience of more than 11 years in dispensing justice in the largest High Court in the country.