The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud that the Nation was sent a strong message that the Collegium is vibrant, active, and committed to its task after the appointment of two recent judges to the top Court within 72 hours of their recommendation.
During the felicitation ceremony that was organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for the newly appointed judges of the Supreme Court – Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan, the CJI while addressing the gathering of lawyers and judges said that both collegium and government shoudl be thanked equally for the process.
The CJI said that we must accept the fact that government is an equal stakeholder in the process and in these appointments which have come through in less than 72 hours after the names were recommended.
The CJI while addressing the gathering said that the appointments made by Collegium, all judges of the Supreme Court are consulted, and that is the reason why each appointment made to the top court commands the respect and affection of its judges.
The Collegium, under the guidance of CJI and four most senior judges of the Supreme Court, recommended names of Justice Mishra, then the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court with Chhattisgarh as his parent High Court; and Justice Viswanathan, then a senior advocate for appointment to the Supreme Court.
The statement by CJI’ came when the latest proposal forwarded by Collegium to the Centre on July 5 recommending two judges for the Apex court Telangana High Court Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan (parent HC – Gauhati); and Kerala High Court Chief Justice SV Bhatti (parent HC – Andhra Pradesh) lies pending with the government.
The top court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges and is presently has a working strength of 30 judges.