The Supreme Court Collegium has proposed the appointment of four judicial officers as judges, along with the elevation of a lawyer as judge, in the High Courts of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Allahabad.
The decision was taken by the Apex Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Abhay S Oka as its members, during its meeting on December 22.
The Collegium recommended the appointment of Judicial Officer Ashish Naithani as a judge of the Uttarakhand High Court and proposed the elevation of Advocate Praveen Kumar Giri as a judge of the Allahabad High Court.
It further recommended the appointment of judicial officers – Chandra Shekhar Sharma, Pramil Kumar Mathur and Chandra Prakash Shrimali, as judges of the Rajasthan High Court.
The Rajasthan High Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 50 judges, is currently functioning with 32 judges, with a vacancy of 18.
The Allahabad High Court has a strength of 160 judges. It is currently functioning with 81 judges, with a vacancy of 79.
The Uttarakhand High Court, having a sanctioned strength of 11 judges, is currently functioning with six judges, with five vacancies.