Collegium recommends elevation of 5 HC judges to Supreme Court

New Delhi, Dec 13: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of five High Court judges for elevation after the government rejected its last list.

The apex court Collegium proposed the names of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sanjay Karol, the chief justices of Rajasthan and Patna high courts, for elevation as judges of the top court.

The Collegium also recommended the name of Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court, for appointment as a Supreme Court judge, the recommendations uploaded on the apex court's website said.

The Collegium also recommended the name of Ahsanuddin Amanullah, a judge of the Patna High Court, as SC judge. It recommended Justice Manoj Misra, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, for elevation as an apex court judge.

The Collegium's recommendations, if accepted by the Centre, will raise the total number of judges in the apex court to 33 against the sanctioned strength of 34 including the CJI.

Last month, the names of 10 judges recommended for elevation by the Collegium did not receive a go-ahead from the Central government.

Of late, the Collegium system has become a major flashpoint between the Supreme Court and the central government, with the mechanism of judges appointing judges drawing criticism from different quarters.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had on November 25 launched a fresh attack, saying the collegium system is "alien" to the Constitution.

On the judicial side, a bench led by Justice Kaul has been very critical of the delay by the Centre in clearing the names recommended by the Collegium for appointment as judges to constitutional courts, saying the Collegium system is the law of the land and comments against it are "not well taken".

On December 8, the apex court had observed that any law declared by it is "binding" on all stakeholders and the Collegium system must be followed.