New Delhi: The Centre has cleared the proposal of the Supreme Court collegium to appoint Patna High Court Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran as a top court judge.
The five-judge Supreme Court collegium led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna had on January 7 recommended the name of Justice Chandran for elevation to the top court.
What did the Union Law Minister write?
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced the elevation of Justice Chandran to the apex court.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Krishnan Vinod Chandran, Chief Justice, Patna High Court as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India,” Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice posted on social media X.
Currently there are two vacancies in the top court
The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is is 34, including the CJI, and there are currently two vacancies in the apex court. With the elevation of Justice Chandran, the working strength of the top court would rise to 33.
Justice Chandran was appointed as a Judge of the Kerala High Court November 8, 2011 and was elevated as the Patna High Court Chief Justice on March 29, 2023 and has been functioning as the Patna High Court Chief Justice since then.
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 had said.
The collegium further further 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 had said.
