Full strength in Supreme Court as Centres notifies appointment of Justices Bindal, Kumar

The Supreme Court Collegium took into consideration several aspects before recommending the names of the judges for elevation

New Delhi, Feb 10: With the Centre notifying the appointments of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Aravind Kumar, the Supreme Court will have a full strength.

Justices Bindal and Aravin Kumar are currently the Chief Justices of the Allahabad High and Gujarat High Courts respectively.

With the two appointments the Supreme Court will work at its full strength of 34 judges. The last time that the Supreme Court had a full working strength of 34 judges was between September 2019 and November 2019.

On January 31 the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended the names of Justices Bindal and Kumar for elevation. Detailed reasons for their elevation were posted by the 6-member Collegium.

Justice Rajesh Bindal:

Justice Rajesh Bindal belongs to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He is currently the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and is at number 2 in the All India seniority of High Court judges. While recommending his name the Supreme Court Collegium noted that the Punjab and Haryana High Court is not adequately represented in the Supreme Court.

"Justice Rajesh Bindal was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 22 March 2006. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on 11 October 2021. Mr Justice Bindal stands at Sl. No.02 in the combined All-India-seniority of High Court Judges. He is the seniormost Judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court which is one of the largest High Courts with a sanctioned strength of eighty five judges is not adequately represented on the Bench of the Supreme Court. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is a common High Court for two States," the Collegium had said.

Justice Aravind Kumar:

Justice Aravind Kumar hails from the Karnataka High Court. He is at number 26 in the All India seniority list. While recommending the Collegium also recorded that one member, Justice K M Joseph had expressed his reservations on the ground that the name of Justice Aravind Kumar could be considered at a later stage.

Justice Aravind Kumar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on 26 June 2009 and as permanent Judge on 07 December 2012. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat on 13 October 2021. Mr "Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.26 in the combined All-India-seniority of High Court Judges. While recommending his name, the Collegium is conscious of the fact that in the seniority of Judges hailing from the Karnataka High Court, Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.02 and that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by two Judges from the Karnataka High Court," the Collegium said.

Recommendation by Collegium:

On December 13, the Collegium had recommended five names for the appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court. They were, Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Manoj Misra.

"The Collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court. Judgments authored by those falling in the zone of consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court were circulated among the members of the Collegium for a meaningful discussion on and assessment of their judicial acumen, the notification read.

"The names recommended earlier by the Collegium by its resolution dated 13 December 2022 shall have precedence over the two names recommended presently for appointment to the Supreme Court. Therefore, the appointments of five judges recommended on 13 December 2022 should be notified separately and earlier in point of time before the two judges recommended by this resolution. The resolution of the Collegium in regard to the appointment of Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is unanimous. However, in regard to the appointment of Mr Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat, Justice K M Joseph has expressed his reservations on the ground that his name can be considered at a later stage," the notification also read.

Aspects considered by the Collegium:

The seniority of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges in their respective parent High Courts as well as overall seniority of the High Court Judges

The merit, performance and integrity of the judges under consideration; and

The need to ensure diversity and inclusion in the Supreme Court by:

(i) representation of High Courts which are not represented or are inadequately represented, in the Supreme Court;

(ii) appointing persons from marginalized and backward segments of society;

(iii) gender diversity; and

(iv) representation of minorities.