Justice KT Joseph Elevation: SC Collegium Reiterates His Name For Elevation to Apex Court

The Collegium has been recommending Justice Joseph's name since April.

New Delhi, July 20: The Supreme Court Collegium on Friday reiterated the name of Uttarakhand HC Chief Justice KM Joseph to be appointed to the apex court. It has also recommended the appointment of Acting Chief Justice of Delhi HC Justice Gita Mittal to be appointed as the Chief Justice of J&K High Court and the appointment of Justice Aniruddha Bose, senior judge of Calcutta HC, as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. The Collegium had recommended the appointment of Justice Hrishikesh Roy of Guwahati HC and appointment of acting Chief Justice of Kerala High Court as the Chief Justice of Kerala HC.  (Also read: Centre Turns Down SC Collegium Recommendation of Two Names For HC Judges)

The Collegium has also recommended the appointment of Justice VK Tahilramani of Bombay HC to be appointed as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court. The name of Justice MR Shah of Gujarat High Court has been recommended for appointment as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

It is the name of Chief Justice KM Joseph that has become the bone of contention between the Centre and the SC Collegium. The matter of the elevation of Justice Joseph, the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, was stalled by the Centre when it refused to clear his name to be a Supreme Court judge. Back in April this year, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra giving the reasons for the reconsideration of the case of Justice KM Joseph. In the letter, he mentioned, “In the All India High Court Judges’ Seniority List, Justice KM Joseph is placed at Serial Number 42. There are presently 11 Chief Justices of various High Courts who are senior to him.”