SC Collegium recommends names of eight judges, one advocate for elevation

The Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Justice N V Ramana has recommended names of eight judges, including three women, and a senior advocate for elevation to the top court.

Of the three women judges, Justice B V Nagarathna of Karnataka High Court would become the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027, if her name is finally approved. She is the daughter of former Chief Justice of India E S Venkataramiah.

The statement giving names of the recommendation cleared by the Collegium was released hours after the CJI termed the media reports on the proposals, as "speculative, irresponsible and counterproductive" since the process was still on.

By the evening, it turned out that the Collegium has in fact approved those names in a meeting held on Tuesday.

Of all, Justice Hima Kohli, Chief Justice of Telangana High Court and Justice Bela Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court are the other two woman judges proposed by the five-judge Collegium, for elevation.

Among other recommendations are Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Abhay Kumar Oka, Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Sikkim High Court Chief Justice J K Maheshwari.

Justice C T Ravikumar, the second senior-most judge of the Kerala High Court, and Justice M M Sundaresh, the third senior-most judge of the Madras High Court, are the other judges recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court.

Former Additional Solicitor General and senior advocate P S Narsimha has also been picked up for elevation directly from the Bar.

The recommendations of the Collegium, if accepted, would take up the strength of judges in the top court to 33. One vacancy fell on Wednesday with the retirement of Justice Navin Sinha.

Notably, the recommendations from the Collegium comes days after the retirement of Justice R F Nariman, who remained adamant on the name of Justice Akil Kureshi for elevation, causing a 22-month-long impasse on the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court.

The Collegium at present comprised Justices U U Lalit, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao.