NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Thursday recommended the appointment of chief justices to eight high courts, including the Madras HC, and elevation of Acting Chief of Madras High Court R Mahadevan to the apex court.
The collegium has recommended Bombay High Court judge Justice KR Shiram to be the next chief justice of the Madras HC. The collegium has also recommended the elevation of Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh to the SC.
‘Mahadevan will bring diversity to bench’
If the recommendations are accepted by the union government, Justice Singh would be the first judge from Manipur to be elevated to the apex court.
While Justice Manmohan has been recommended for being appointed as Delhi High Court Chief Justice, Justice Rajiv Shakdher’s name has been proposed for Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh HC.
The Collegium has also recommended the appointment of Justice Suresh Kait as Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir HC, Justice Nitin Jamdar for Chief Justice of Kerala HC, Justice GS Sandhawalia as CJ of Madhya Pradesh HC, and Justice Tashi Rabstan as Meghalaya HC Chief Justice.
The Collegium has recommended the transfer of Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao from Himachal Pradesh to Jharkhand High Court.
On the elevation of Justice R Mahadevan to the apex court, the resolution said, “Being conversant with the work of Justice Mahadevan on the judicial side and as a senior judge of the high court, the collegium is of the view that he is eminently suitable for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Mahadevan belongs to a backward community from Tamil Nadu and his appointment will bring diversity to the bench.
The collegium has taken due note of the fact that Justice R Mahadevan ranks third in the order of presently serving judges of the Madras HC including the judges who have been posted as chief justices outside the Madras HC.”
Regarding Kotiswar Singh’s elevation, the Collegium resolution said, “His (Justice Singh) appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the northeast, and in particular he will be the first judge from the State of Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.” It further said, “Justice Singh has an impeccable record, both in judicial capacity and in terms of the work which has been rendered by him on the administrative side, as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Justice Mahadevan, who was born in 1963 in Chennai, graduated from the Madras Law College before being enrolled as an advocate in 1989. He mainly practised in civil, criminal and writ sides, but his area of specialisation was tax law. He was elevated as a judge of the HC in 2013. He is well-known for his erudition in Tamil literature.
His late father Maa. Aranganathan was a Tamil writer of repute, who ran a literary magazine called Mundril. Justice Mahadevan runs the Mundril Literary Society and has instituted the Maa. Aranganathan Literary Awards that are awarded annually to Tamil writers. The awards carry a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh and a citation. The SC Collegium consists of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy.