For a start, it has been well received. The first four appointments after the Supreme Court restored the collegium have been quietly applauded by the legal fraternity. It was not many days ago that Chief Justice of India TS Thakur had publicly requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speed up the process of appointing judges to fill vacancies so that the vexed issue of pendency could find some resolution.
Pendency in Indian courts currently stands at 3.10 crore cases. There are 4,600 vacancies of judges in the subordinate judiciary and 462 vacant posts in High Courts. As per 20th Law Commission study, at the current rate of disposal, High Courts need over 950 judges to solve the problem of pending cases. The apex court though will raise its strength to 29 with the appointment of four judges, against 31 required.
The formality was completed with President Pranab Mukherjee signing the warrant for appointments of new Supreme Court judges. Those elevated are: Allahabad High Court Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar, Kerala High Court Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and former additional solicitor-general L Nageswara Rao. They took oath on May 13, the last working day of the Supreme Court before it starts its summer vacation.
Pravin H Parekh, senior advocate and former Supreme Court Bar Association president, told India Legal: “Various factors are considered while choosing judges for the Supreme Court. Apart from a judge’s seniority, his ability, performance, attitude and quality of judgment come into play. The power of appointment is totally with the collegium of five senior-most judges of the top court. The government has only the right of expressing its opinion to reconsider. In this light, I think that the recommendations have been a fair decision.”
Well-known activist and senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, too, welcomed the appointments: “These are all excellent recommendations. I think the Supreme Court is going to be strengthened by the entry of these judges.”
RAMESH MENON profiles the new justices who will make their mark in the highest court of the land:
Justice Ajay M Khanwilkar
Perseverance and dogged determination are the two hallmarks that best describe him and his legal career.
Justice Ajay M Khanwilkar was born on July 30, 1957. Enrolling as an advocate in 1982, he practiced civil, criminal and constitutional law in subordinate courts, tribunals and the High Court of Judicature at Bombay on the Appellate side and Original side. In 1984, he moved to practice exclusively in the Supreme Court.
He practiced in the Court of Charity Commissioner, Maharashtra Cooperative Appellate Tribunal, City Civil and Sessions Court and the High Court in Bombay till July 1984, and thereafter, in the Supreme Court. He was the government advocate for Maharashtra at the Supreme Court from 1985 to 1989. He was the panel counsel for the Union of India from January 1990 and also advocate for the Election Commission of India from March 1995. He also worked as advocate for various statutory authorities and corporations.
He was appointed as an additional judge of Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000, and as a permanent judge on April 8, 2002. He was appointed chief justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court on April 4, 2013, and transferred to Madhya Pradesh on November 24, 2013.
Justice Khanwilkar was appointed as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court on April 4, 2013 and as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court on November 24, 2013. An associate said that Justice Khanwilkar stood out with his perseverance and determination and won the respect of all.
Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud
Known to be a man of great learning and sound character, he has a deep interest in academics.
Justice DY Chandrachud was born on November 11, 1959. His father, Y Vishnu Chandrachud was the 16th Chief Justice of India. His mother, Prabha, was a classical musician and trained with famed classical singer Kishori Amonkar. He did his schooling from Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai and St. Columba’s School and graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1979. He completed his LLB from Delhi University in 1982, LLM from Harvard University in 1983 and Doctor of Juridical Sciences (SJD) Harvard in 1986.
Justice Chandrachud’s illustrious career started in Delhi. He practiced in the Supreme Court till 1988. He was designated a senior advocate in 1998 and appointed as Additional Solicitor-General of India. He specialized in constitutional and administrative laws and appeared in several important cases involving the rights of bonded women workers, rights of HIV positive workers in the work place, contract labor and rights of religious and linguistic minorities. He appeared on behalf of several public bodies including RBI, port trusts, municipal corporations and universities.
Justice Chandrachud appeared before the High Courts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Calcutta, Allahabad and Delhi. He also appeared before the Company Law Board, FERA Board, MRTP Commission, National Consumer Commission and State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
He has a deep interest in academics. In 1983, he was a visiting professor of International Law at Oklahoma, University School of Law at Norman, USA. He has also taught Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Bombay.
He was appointed additional judge of Bombay High Court in March 2000 and was elevated as Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court on Oct 31, 2013. Said a close associate who chose to remain anonymous: “Justice Chandrachud is a man of great learning and impeccable character. Though he had an outstanding career as a lawyer, he chose to become a judge.”
Justice Ashok Bhushan
He is considered one of the most hardworking and highly regarded judges in Allahabad.
Justice Ashok Bhushan was born on July 5, 1956, at Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. He did his schooling from Government Inter College in Allahabad. He completed his law degree from the University of Allahabad securing a first division and followed in the footsteps of his father, Chandrama Prasad Shrivastav, who was a well-known lawyer in the Allahabad High Court. He started practising in 1979 and dealt mainly with civil, constitutional, labor, service and education cases. He was the standing counsel of Allahabad University, several municipal boards, banks and educational institutions. He was the senior vice-president of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association in 1990-91.
Justice Bhushan was elevated as a permanent judge of the Allahabad High Court on April 24, 2001. “He is one of the most hardworking and highly regarded judges in Allahabad,” says a top lawyer who now practices in the Supreme Court. He was formerly the chairman of the Higher Judicial Service Committee. He was appointed Chief Justice of Kerala High Court in March 2015.
Justice Bhushan’s younger brother, Anil Bhushan, a senior advocate in Allahabad High Court told India Legal that Justice Bhushan was very fond of playing cricket. He often used to play the game in his younger days at the Government Inter College grounds and later, in the grounds of Allahabad High Court. He is sure to miss his cricket and his morning walks in the 22-acres of the historical Chandrashekhar Azad Park. He has a simple, down-to-earth lifestyle, is a strict vegetarian and hates intoxicants of any kind.
Allahabad advocate NK Pandey who knew Justice Bhushan for many years, told India Legal: “Even as a young lawyer, he excelled himself. In 1991, he was elected as vice-president of the High Court Bar Association with a thumping majority as he was very popular because of his integrity. Later, as a judge, his interpretations of law were unique and intelligent. He was so simple in his ways and lived like a commoner all through.”
Justice L Nageswara Rao
As a lawyer, he has been outstanding and should be an asset for the Supreme Court.
Justice L Nageswara Rao is the only senior advocate elevated to the Supreme Court in the latest round of appointments. His is the seventh such case in India where a distinguished member of the bar was directly appointed as an apex court judge. Among the serving judges from the bar, he will be the third, with Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and Justice UU Lalit having been appointed in 2014 by the current government.
He was earlier the counsel to Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case in the Supreme Court. He was also spearheading the Tamil Nadu government’s objections against the conduct of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test in 2016-17.
Justice Rao was earlier the Additional Solicitor-General in the Supreme Court for both UPA-II and the present NDA government.
Sixteen years ago, Rao was designated a senior advocate. After that, he was appointed as an additional solicitor-general three times. In December 2014, he decided to resume private practice.
Justice Rao was also a member of the Supreme Court-appointed Mudgal Committee headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal. It had senior advocate and former cricket umpire Nilay Dutta as the other member. The committee was tasked with conducting an independent inquiry into allegations of corruption, betting and spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League matches. One thing that he might miss during the hectic days at the Supreme Court would be cricket, a game he is very passionate about.
Senior advocate PH Parekh said that Justice Rao had been an outstanding lawyer and good human being and would be an “asset to the Supreme Court.” Another celebrated senior advocate from the Supreme Court said: “Justice Rao is a good choice as he was one of India’s most outstanding and competent lawyers. His gesture of accepting the honor of taking over as a Supreme Court judge is noteworthy as he had a stupendous practice. His selection is an eloquent testimony to both the bar and the bench.”