Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Appointment Of New CJs In 7 High Courts & 2 Judges In Apex Court

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of new Chief Justices in seven different High Courts and two Judges in the Apex Court.

The Collegium has recommended the following persons to be appointed as the Judges of the Supreme Court-

• Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Chief Justice, Telangana High Court, (PHC: Gauhati)

• Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, Chief Justice, Kerala High Court (PHC: Andhra Pradesh)

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on 17 October 2011. He is the senior-most judge of his parent High Court and is presently serving as Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana since 28 June 2022. He has served as a judge of the Gauhati High Court and as Chief Justice of High Court for the State of Telangana.

Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on 12 April 2013 and is the senior-most in his parent High Court. The High Court of Andhra Pradesh does not have any representation on the Bench of the Supreme Court since August 2022. He was transferred to the High Court of Kerala in March 2019 and is presently serving as Chief Justice there since 01 June 2023.

The recommendation has been made for the High Courts of Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Gujarat, Kerala, Manipur, Orissa, and Telangana.

The following are the details of the recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium-

• Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur as the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court.

• Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.

• Justice Sunita Agarwal as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.

• Justice Ashish J Desai as the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court.

• Justice Siddharth Mridul as the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court.

• Justice Subhasis Talapatra as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.

• Justice Alok Aradhe as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur

The office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh fell vacant on 19 May 2023 consequent upon the elevation of Mr Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra to the Supreme Court. Justice Thakur was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir on 08 March 2013 and is now the senior-most Judge in his parent High Court. He was transferred, in the interest of better administration of justice, to the High Court of Bombay in June 2022 and has been functioning there since then.

Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya

A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay has arisen recently consequent upon retirement of Mr Justice Ramesh D Dhanuka. Justice Upadhyaya was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on 21 November 2011 and is now a senior puisne Judge in his parent High Court. He has been functioning there since his elevation and has acquired experience of more than 11 years in dispensing justice in the largest High Court in the country.

Justice Sunita Agarwal

A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat has arisen consequent upon the retirement of Ms Justice Sonia G Gokani. Justice Sunita was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on 21 November 2011 and is now the senior-most puisne Judge in her parent High Court. She has been functioning there since her elevation and has acquired experience of more than 11 years in dispensing justice in the largest High Court in the country.

Justice Ashish J Desai

A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala would arise consequent upon elevation of Mr Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti to the Supreme Court in terms of the separate recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium. Justice Desai was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Gujarat on 21 November 2011. He has acquired experience of more than 11 years in dispensing justice in a large High Court. He is the seniormost puisne Judge in his parent High Court and is currently performing the duties of the office of Chief Justice of that High Court.

Justice Sidharth Mridul

The office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur fell vacant in February 2023 consequent upon the elevation of Mr Justice P V Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court of India. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made. Justice Mridul was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Delhi on 13 March 2008 and has been functioning as the seniormost puisne Judge in his parent High Court.

Justice Subhasis Talapatra

A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa would arise in August 2023 consequent upon retirement of Dr Justice S Muralidhar. Justice Talapatra is the senior-most Judge from the Tripura High Court, for appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa. He was elevated as a Judge of the Gauhati High Court on 15 November 2011 and on establishment of a separate High Court for the State of Tripura in 2013 he opted the High Court of Tripura as his parent High Court. He has been functioning, on transfer, in the High Court of Orissa since 10 June 2022. He has acquired considerable experience of dispensing justice in two High Courts.

Justice Alok Aradhe

A vacancy in the office of the Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana would arise consequent upon the elevation of Mr Justice Ujjal Bhuyan to the Supreme Court in terms of the separate recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium. Justice Aradhe was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh on 29 December 2009 and is now a senior puisne Judge in his parent High Court. He has been functioning, on transfer since November 2018 as a Judge of the Karnataka High Court and has acquired experience of more than 13 years in dispensing justice in two large High Courts.

Click here to read/download Resolutions