Collegium recommends 3 High Court Chief Justices be elevated as Supreme Court judges

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended the elevation of the Chief Justices of the Delhi, Rajasthan and Gauhati High Courts as judges of the top court, saying it is necessary to have full strength in view of ever-mounting cases.

In its meeting, the Collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprising four senior-most judges approved the appointment of Delhi HC CJ Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Rajasthan HC CJ Justice Augustine George Masih and Gauhati HC CJ Justice Sandeep Mehta as judges of the top court.

The Supreme Court, with a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, is presently working with 31 judges.

"The Supreme Court has a huge backlog of cases. In view of the ever mounting pendency of cases, the workload of judges has increased considerably. It has become necessary to ensure that the Court has full working judge strength, leaving no vacancy at any point of time," the Collegium said.

In picking up the three names, the Collegium considered the seniority of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges in their respective parent High Courts as well as the overall seniority of the High Court Judges, the merit, performance and integrity of the judges under consideration, and the need to ensure diversity, among other things.

"After carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, the Collegium found the three persons to be deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India," the Collegium said.

Of the three, Justice Sharma stood at serial number two in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges. He was appointed as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 18, 2008. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana on October 11, 2021, and thereafter transferred to the High Court of Delhi on June 28, 2022.

Justice Masih, who belongs to a minority community, stands at serial number seven in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges. He was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 10, 2008, and elevated as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court on May 30, 2023.

Justice Mehta stood at serial number 23 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges. He was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court on May 30, 2011. Having attained seniority in his parent High Court, he was elevated as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and has been serving there since February 15, 2023.