New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday (January 7) recommended the name of Patna High Court Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran for appointment as a judge of the apex court.
The five-judge collegium led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna in a meeting held on Tuesday recommended the name of Justice Chandran for elevation to the top court.
Currently there are two vacancies in the top court
The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is is 34, including the CJI, and currently there are two vacancies in the top court.
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Justice Chandran was appointed as a Judge of the Kerala High Court November 8, 2011 and was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on March 29, 2023 and has been functioning as the chief justice of the Patna High Court since then.
The collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of chief justices and senior puisne Judges of the high courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court and recommended that Justice Chandran be appointed as a judge of the top court.
What did the collegium say?
“He has served as a Judge of the High Court for more than 11 years and as a Chief Justice of a big High Court for more than a year. During his long tenure as a Judge and Chief Justice of the High Court, Mr. Justice Chandran has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. Mr. Justice Chandran stands at Sl. No. 13 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges. In the seniority of Judges hailing from the High Court of Kerala, Mr. Justice K. Vinod Chandran stands at Sl. No. 1,” collegium said.
There is no representation on bench of the Supreme Court from Kerala High Court, collegium noted
The collegium, while recommending the name of Justice Chandran, took into consideration the fact that there is no representation on the bench of the Supreme Court from the Kerala High Court.
“The Collegium has, therefore, unanimously recommended that Mr. Justice K. Vinod Chandran be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India,” collegium said.
The collegium also recommended the transfers of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya to the Delhi High Court and Telangana High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe to the Bombay High Court.
