Justice P.S. Narasimha is set to join the Supreme Court Collegium after the retirement of Justice J.K. Maheshwari, becoming its fifth senior-most member. He will remain part of the Collegium until his retirement on May 2, 2028, playing a key role in judicial appointments.
Justice P. S. Narasimha is expected to join the Supreme Court Collegium following the retirement of Justice J. K. Maheshwari on Sunday. As the fifth senior-most judge, Justice Narasimha will formally be part of the Collegium until his retirement on May 2, 2028. Justice Maheshwari retired on Sunday, concluding a tenure of nearly five years.
With his retirement, the Collegium will now include Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice B. V. Nagarathna, Justice M. M. Sundresh, and Justice P. S. Narasimha.
Under the Collegium system introduced in 1993 after a Supreme Court judgement five senior-most judges of the apex court recommend the appointment, transfer, and elevation of judges to the Supreme Court and 25 high courts.
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The government can return the recommendations to the Collegium under this arrangement. Typically, the recommendation is accepted if it is reiterated by the Collegium, though there have been instances where the government returned the file or did not respond to the recommendation.
Born on May 3, 1963, in Hyderabad, Justice Narasimha completed triple majors in economics, political science, and public administration at Nizam College, Hyderabad, and later studied law at the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, in 1988. He was enrolled as an advocate the same year and practised at the high court, civil courts, and tribunals in Hyderabad, before moving his practice to the Supreme Court.
He argued a wide range of cases before the Supreme Court, including matters heard by Constitution benches.
During this period, he was appointed commission counsel for the Justice Chinnappa Reddy Commission and served as a member of the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee. In 2008, he was designated a senior advocate by the full court of the Supreme Court.
As a senior advocate, he appeared in numerous public law cases touching on constitutional, administrative, and environmental issues. In 2014, he was appointed additional solicitor general of India. In that role, he assisted the court as a law officer in several landmark cases, including the NJAC case before a Constitution bench. He was also part of a Supreme Court delegation to the Canadian Supreme Court, where he presented a paper on extradition and the environment.
Justice Narasimha was elevated to the Supreme Court directly from the Bar on August 31, 2021.