The Supreme Court collegium in its latest resolution has recommended the names of 13 judicial officers for appointment as judges of various high courts, including the transfer of Justice MV Muralidharan from the Manipur High Court to the Calcutta High Court.
"..the Collegium proposed the transfer of Mr Justice M V Muralidaran, Judge, High Court of Manipur [PHC: Madras], to the High Court at Calcutta, for better administration of justice," read a collegium statement.
In another decision, the collegium recommended the names of four advocates -- Harinath Nunepally, Kiranmayee Mandava, Sumathi Jagadam, and Nyapathy Vijay -- as judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Five judicial officers for appointment as judges of the Kerala High Court were also recommended including M B Snehalatha, Johnson John, G Girish, C Pratheepkumar, and P Krishna Kumar.
It also recommended three judicial officers -- Abhay Jainarayanji Mantri, Shyam Chhaganlal Chandak, and Neeraj Pradeep Dhote -- for elevation as judges of the Bombay High Court.
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The collegium headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna recommended judicial officers Shalinder Kaur and Ravinder Dudeja for appointment as judges of the Delhi High Court while refusing to endorse a judicial officer senior to them.
The collegium said the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues, had on May 30 recommended the elevation of the judicial officers as judges of that high court.
Noting that there is a need to ensure greater representation to women on the Bench to promote diversity and inclusion, the collegium said it is conscious of the fact that Kaur recently retired from the Delhi Higher Judicial Service on September 30.
"Despite this, having regard to the fact that the officer has a proven track record and possesses both merit and integrity, the Collegium is of the considered view that she is suitable for appointment as a judge of the High Court of Delhi," it said.
"While considering the above proposals, we have also taken note of the fact that the above proposal involves non-recommendation of a senior judicial officer. Cogent reasons have been recorded by the Collegium of the High Court for not recommending his name. We are, therefore, in agreement with the Collegium of the High Court for not recommending his name," it said.