PTI, NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Collegium has brushed aside the reservations of the government over its decision to elevate Uttarakhand Chief Justice K M Joseph to the apex court as a judge and reiterated his name along with two other recommendations. The Collegium said “nothing adverse” regarding “suitability” of Justice Joseph has been pointed out in two letters of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
It also recommended the names of Chief Justice of Madras High Court Indira Banerjee and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran for appointment as Supreme Court judges.
The five-member Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on January 10 had for the first time cleared the name of Justice Joseph, who was part of the bench which in 2016 had quashed the imposition of President’s rule by the NDA government in the hill state, for the judge of the apex court.
However, the government had on April 26 returned the Collegium’s recommendation to elevate Justice Joseph seeking its reconsideration, saying the proposal was not in accordance with the top court’s parameters and there was adequate representation of Kerala in the higher judiciary from where he hails. It had also questioned his seniority for elevation as a judge of the apex court.
