According to sources, the collegium, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, will consider several high court chief justices and senior judges for these appointments. The collegium members include Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy, and the newly appointed Justice Roy, who replaced Justice Bopanna in May.
NEW DELHI: As the Supreme Court of India prepares to resume sessions from today( July 8) following the summer recess, the collegium is poised to finalize the appointments of two new judges to fill vacancies in the apex court.
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The upcoming crucial meeting, scheduled shortly, will focus on selecting candidates who embody judicial integrity, experience, and competence. Currently, the Supreme Court operates with 32 judges, two short of its full complement of 34 following the recent retirements of Justices Aniruddha Bose and AS Bopanna in April and May, respectively. With Justice Hima Kohli’s impending retirement in September, there is urgency in filling these vacancies.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the collegium, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, will consider several high court chief justices and senior judges for these appointments. The collegium members include Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy, and the newly appointed Justice Roy, who replaced Justice Bopanna in May.
Among the judges under consideration are Justices TS Sivagnanam, N Kotiswar Singh, Siddharth Mridul, Manmohan, Alok Aradhe, Aparesh Kumar Singh, K Vinod Chandran, Sunita Agarwal, DS Thakur, and R Mahadevan. Except for Justice Mahadevan, all others currently serve as chief justices in various high courts.
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Justice Sivagnanam, currently Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, began his judicial career as an additional judge in the Madras High Court in March 2009. Justice Singh, Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, started as an additional judge in the Gauhati High Court in October 2011. Justice Mridul, Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, began as an additional judge in the Delhi High Court in March 2008.
Justice Manmohan has been acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court since November 2023, having been appointed as a judge in March 2008. Justice Aradhe, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, was appointed as a judge in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in December 2009. Justice Singh, Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court, started as an additional judge of the Jharkhand High Court in January 2012.
As Justice Chandran, Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, began as an additional judge in the Kerala High Court in November 2011. Justice Agarwal, Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, was appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court in November 2011.
Similarly, Justice Thakur, Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, was appointed as a judge in the J&K High Court in March 2013. Justice Mahadevan, a judge of the Madras High Court since October 2013, currently serves as acting Chief Justice.
The Supreme Court collegium, comprising the CJI and the four senior-most judges, oversees the selection and appointment of judges in both the Supreme Court and high courts in India. The process is guided by the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) established in 1999, following Supreme Court decisions that formalized the collegium system.
The most recent Supreme Court appointment was Justice PB Varale in January 2024, which marked a historic moment with three judges from the Scheduled Caste category now serving on the bench, including Justices Gavai and CT Ravikumar. Justice Gavai is slated to become CJI in May 2025, following Justice KG Balakrishnan, making him the second Dalit to hold this position.
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In April 2023, CJI Chandrachud emphasized the importance of immediately filling all vacancies in the Supreme Court, underscoring the involvement of the Centre of Research and Planning (CRP) in preparing lists of potential candidates for future appointments. The CRP supports the collegium’s permanent secretariat, aiding in the comprehensive process of judicial appointments.
