The Supreme Court Collegium consisting of Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B R Gavai and Justice Surya Kant recommended the elevation of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Chief Justice of Telengana High Court and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, Chief Justice of Kerala High Court to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of India at present has a sanctioned strength of thirty-
four Judges and is presently functioning with thirty-one Judges. Thus,
there are three clear vacancies.
The Collegium decided that it imperative for them to take steps to fill up the vacancies with a view to augment
the working judge-strength to take care of the backlog of cases and
the large institution of fresh matters.
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, well in
advance, for a meaningful discussion on and assessment of their
judicial acumen.
The Centre for Research & Planning of the Supreme Court has prepared a compilation of relevant background material to assist the Collegium.
While recommending appointments to the Supreme Court the Collegium took due consideration of the seniority of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges
in their respective parent High Courts along with the overall
seniority of the High Court Judges.
The second criteria was based on the merit, and performance and integrity of the judges.
The other requirement needed 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) appointment of persons from marginalized and
backward segments of society;
(iii) gender diversity; and
(iv) representation of minorities.
After carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence
of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts
and also accommodating a plurality of considerations.
Supreme Court Collegium recommended names of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Chief Justice of Telengana High Court and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, Chief Justice of Kerala High Court for elevation to the Supreme Court.
Mr 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.
Mr Justice Bhuyan has served as a judge of the Gauhati High Court and as Chief
Justice of High Court for the State of Telangana. During his long tenure
as a judge of the High Court Mr Justice Bhuyan has acquired significant
experience in diverse fields of law.
He has acquired specialisation and
domain knowledge in the law of taxation. He has also served as a judge
of the Bombay High Court dealing with a wide spectrum of cases
including taxation.His judgments cover wide ranging issues pertaining
to law and justice.
Mr. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan is a judge with a good reputation for integrity and competence.
Mr 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.
During his long tenure as a judge of the High Court of Andhra High
Pradesh and as a Judge and subsequently as Chief Justice of the High
Court of Kerala, Mr Justice Bhatti has acquired considerable experience
in various branches of law.
The judgments authored by him dealing
with issues in various branches of law stand testimony to his legal
acumen and competence.
Apart from according representation to the State of Andhra Pradesh, the appointment of Mr Justice Bhatti will
provide a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and
experience. He commands a good reputation and possesses integrity
and competence.
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