In the Supreme Court Collegium meeting held on Tuesday, August 17, nine names were recommended — including three women judges — for elevation to the apex court of India. These include the Chief Justice of the Telangana and Karnataka High Courts, and Justices of the Kerala and Madras High Courts. The last new appointment to the Supreme Court was made in 2019, during the tenure of then CJI Ranjan Gogoi. The recommendations must now be approved by the Union government and sent to the President of India for his assent, following which the new Supreme Court judges will be appointed.
The Collegium has recommended Chief Justice AS Oka and Justice BV Nagarathna of the Karnataka High Court, Chief Justice Hima Kohli of the Telangana High Court, Chief Justice Vikram Nath of the Gujarat High Court, Sikkim Chief Justice JK Maheshwari, Justice CT Ravikumar of the Kerala High Court, Justice MM Sundresh of the Madras High Court, Justice Bela M Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court and senior Advocate PS Narasimha.
Chief Justice Abhay Sreeniwas Oka, a student of the Bombay University, started practising in Thane District Court in the chamber of his father Shreeniwas W Oka. He was later elevated to the post of Additional Judge in the Bombay High Court in 2003 and was appointed as a permanent Judge in 2005. He took oath as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on May 10, 2019. The Judge is known for his pro-free speech and liberal judgements.
Justice BV Nagarathna, also a Judge with the Karnataka High Court, is speculated to become the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027. She has practiced, among other fields, constitutional law, commercial law, and administrative and public law, and was appointed as the Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2008, and a permanent Judge in 2010.
Chief Justice Hima Kohli of the Telangana High Court was also among those recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court. She graduated from St Stephen’s College in Delhi and has represented the Delhi government in several important public interest litigations. Justice Kholi was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court of Delhi in 2006 and took oath as a permanent Judge in 2007, before being sworn in as the Chief Justice for Telangana in January 2021. The Chief Justice is also an advocate for mediation as a form of dispute resolution and has presented several papers on the same.
From Kerala, Justice CT Ravikumar was on the Collegium’s list to be elevated to the Supreme Court. Born on January 6, 1960, Justice Ravikumar enrolled on July 12, 1986, and practiced civil, criminal, service and labour law in Ernakulam. He was sworn in as Additional Judge of the High Court of Kerala in 2009 and was appointed as permanent Judge of the High Court of Kerala in 2010.
Justice MM Sundresh of the Madras High Court was enrolled as an advocate in 1985, and was appreciated by the Bench and Bar for his clear presentation of cases with regard to facts and the law. He was appointed as a member of the Monitoring Committee to oversee the establishment of the Reverse Osmosis System to the Dyeing Units of Tirupur, Karur and Erode District by the High Court, and was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was appointed as a permanent Judge of Madras High Court in 2011.
The Supreme Court Collegium oversees the appointments, the elevation of judges and lawyers to the Supreme Court as well as transfers of judges of High Courts and the apex court. The decisions are made by a forum of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. Currently, the Collegium comprises Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice UU Lalit, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Nageshwar Rao and Justice AM Khanwilkar.