New Delhi, July 16: Acting swiftly on the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium, the Centre on Tuesday cleared the appointment of Justices N Kotiswar Singh and R Mahadevan to the apex court. In a post on X, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, announced that the President, in exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, was pleased to appoint the two judges after consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The names were cleared by the Union government within five days after the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, on July 11 recommended for elevation of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court’s Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Madras High Court’s Acting Chief Justice R Mahadevan to the apex court. Following the swearing in of Justices Singh and Mahadevan, the Supreme Court will continue to function with a full sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
In a statement released on the top court’s website, the SC Collegium had said that it took factors like seniority, merit, integrity, diversity of region, gender and community, and inclusion of marginalised and backward sections of society, etc. while making recommendations for appointment to the top court. Justice Kotiswar Singh, who hails from Manipur was originally appointed as a Judge of the Gauhati High Court in October 2011. In February last year, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
“His appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first Judge from the State of Manipur to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court. “Mr Justice N Kotiswar Singh has an impeccable record, both in judicial capacity and in terms of the work which has been rendered by him on the administrative side, as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” the Collegium said.
Justice R. Mahadevan is at present the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court and ranks third in the order of serving judges of the Madras HC. The Collegium said that it has given precedence to the candidature of Justice Mahadevan in order to give representation to the backward community. “Mr Justice Mahadevan belongs to a backward community from the state of Tamil Nadu. His appointment will bring diversity to the Bench,” it said, adding that he is eminently suitable for appointment as an SC judge.
IANS