New Delhi, Dec 13 The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday recommended the names of five high court judges for the elevation to the apex court.
A statement uploaded on the apex court website said: "The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 13 December 2022 has resolved to recommend elevation of the following Chief Justices/Judges of the High Courts, as Judges in the Supreme Court: Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice, Rajasthan High Court (parent high court (PHC): Allahabad); Justice Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice, Patna High Court (PHC: Himachal Pradesh); Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Justice, Manipur High Court (PHC: Telangana); Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Judge, Patna High Court; and Justice Manoj Misra, Judge, Allahabad High Court."
According to sources, the six-member collegium headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud met for the first time on Tuesday, after the Centre cleared Justice Dipankar Datta for elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court, to finalize names to fill up the vacancies in the apex court.
The six-member collegium also comprises Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S. Abdul Nazeer, K.M. Joseph, M.R. Shah, and Sanjiv Khanna.
Justice Dipankar Datta was on Monday sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court. CJI Chandrachud administered the oath of office to Justice Datta on the apex court premises, in presence of all apex court judges, lawyers, and family members.
With this, the working strength of the apex court rose to 28 as against its sanctioned strength of 34. If the Central government approves the five names, the number of apex court judges would be increased to 33.
However, out of the 28 apex court judges at present, nine are scheduled to retire in 2023. Justice Abdul Nazeer will retire on January 4.
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