October 13, 2018:

Postings in Mumbai, Kolkata, Uttarakhand, Guwahati, Sikkim

The Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has recommended appointment of Justices N.H. Patil and D.K. Gupta as chief justices of the Bombay and Calcutta High Courts.

It recommended Justices Ramesh Ranganathan, A.S. Bopanna and Vijai Kumar Bist for appointment as chief justices of the High Courts of Uttarakhand, Gauhati and Sikkim, respectively.

The Collegium, also comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, noted in its resolutions that while Justice Patil is currently the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Gupta is functioning as the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.

“It is made clear that the Collegium, while making the above recommendation, is conscious of the fact that Justice N.H. Patil hails from Bombay High Court and is due to retire in April 2019. In this connection, the Collegium has invoked the provision of the Memorandum of Procedure which provides for elevation of a puisne Judge as Chief Justice in his own High Court if he has one year or less to retire,” it said.

The three-member Collegium also recommended appointment of three additional judges of the Madras High Court — Justices R.M.T. Teeka Raman, N. Sathish Kumar and N. Seshasayee — as permanent judges of that High Court.

It recommended making seven additional judges of the Karnataka High Court — Justices Kempaiah Somashekar, K Somappa Mudagal, Sreenivas H. Kumar, John Michael Cunha (who convicted former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in a DA case), Basavaraj A Patil, N.K. Sudhindrarao and Dr H.B.P Sastry permanent judges.

It recommended elevation of advocates V.G. Arun, N. Nagaresh and P.V. Kunhikrishnan as judges of the Kerala High Court. It recommended elevation of two judicial officers, T.V. Anilkumar and N. Anil Kumar, as judges of the High Court.

Source Hindu

Read the SC Collegium Resolutions here-

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Re: Appointment of Chief Justice in Sikkim High Court.

Office of the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court has fallen vacant, consequent upon retirement of Mr. Justice S.K. Agnihotri, Chief Justice of that High Court. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made. Mr. Justice Vijai Kumar Bist is the senior-most Judge from Uttarakhand High Court and is functioning in that High Court since his elevation. Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium finds Mr. Justice Vijai Kumar Bist suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly. While making the above recommendation, the Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that there has been no Chief Justice from Uttarakhand High Court since the elevation of Mr. Justice P.C. Pant in Supreme Court i.e. in August, 2014.

 

Re: Appointment of Chief Justice in Calcutta High Court.

Office of the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court has fallen vacant recently, consequent upon retirement of Mr. Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, Chief Justice of that High Court. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made. Mr. Justice D.K. Gupta is the senior-most Judge from Calcutta High Court and at present is functioning as Acting Chief Justice of that High Court. Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium finds Mr. Justice D.K. Gupta suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly. While making the above recommendation, the Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that at present there is only one Chief Justice from Calcutta High Court, which is one of the biggest High Courts in the country. It is made clear that the Collegium while making the above recommendation is conscious of the fact that Mr. Justice D.K. Gupta hails from Calcutta High Court and is due to retire in December 2018. In this connection, the Collegium has invoked the provision of the Memorandum of Procedure which provides for elevation of a puisne Judge as Chief Justice in his own High Court if he has one year or less to retire.

 

Re: Appointment of Chief Justice in Gauhati High Court.

Office of the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court has fallen vacant recently, consequent upon retirement of Mr. Justice Ajit Singh, Chief Justice of that High Court. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made. Mr. Justice A.S. Bopanna is a senior puisne Judge from Karnataka High Court and is functioning there since his elevation. The Collegium while considering his name has also considered the names of Mr. Justice H.G. Ramesh and Mr. Justice Huluvadi G. Ramesh, who also hail from Karnataka High Court and are senior to Mr. Justice Bopanna. Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium unanimously finds Mr. Justice A.S. Bopanna suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly.

 

Re: Appointment of Chief Justice in Uttarakhand High Court.

Office of the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court has fallen vacant, consequent upon elevation of Mr. Justice K.M. Joseph, Chief Justice of that High Court to the Supreme Court. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made. Mr. Justice Ramesh Ranganathan is the senior-most Judge from Telangana & Andhra Pradesh High Court and is functioning in that High Court since his elevation. Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium finds Mr. Justice Ramesh Ranganathan suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly. While making the above recommendation, the Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that at present there is only one Chief Justice from Telangana & Andhra Pradesh High Court viz. Mr. Justice R.S. Reddy, and on his retirement which is due in January 2019, there would be no Chief Justice from the said High Court and hence this recommendation is made keeping in view the legitimate expectation of Mr. Justice Ramesh Ranganathan.

 

Re: Appointment of Chief Justice in Bombay High Court.

Office of the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court has been lying vacant for quite some time, consequent upon retirement of Mrs. Justice Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of that High Court. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made. Mr. Justice N.H. Patil is the senior-most Judge from Bombay High Court and at present is functioning as Acting Chief Justice of that High Court. Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium finds Mr. Justice N.H. Patil suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly. While making the above recommendation, the Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that at present there are two Chief Justices from Bombay High Court and, out of two Chief Justices, one viz. Mr. Justice D.B. Bhosale is going to retire on superannuation shortly on 23rd October, 2018 thereby leaving only one Chief Justice from Bombay High Court, which is one of the biggest High Courts with sanctioned Judge-strength of 94 Judges. It is made clear that the Collegium while making the above recommendation is conscious of the fact that Mr. Justice N.H. Patil hails from Bombay High Court and is due to retire in April 2019. In this connection, the Collegium has invoked the provision of the Memorandum of Procedure which provides for elevation of a puisne Judge as Chief Justice in his own High Court if he has one year or less to retire.

( Ranjan Gogoi ), C.J.I. ( Madan B. Lokur ), J. ( Kurian Joseph ), J. New Delhi, October 09, 2018.

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