Names of 5 HC judges 'cleared' for elevation to SC

The President is learnt to have cleared the names of five high court judges, including four chief justices of state high courts, for elevation to the Supreme Court.
Sources said the names cleared for appointment to the apex court are Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Rajasthan HC Chief Justice Naveen Sinha, Kerala HC Chief Justice Mohan M Shantanagouder, Chhattisgarh HC Chief Justice Dipak Gupta and Karnataka HC judge S Abdul Nazeer.
The notifications of their respective appointments will be issued in the coming days, the sources said.
The working strength of the Supreme Court will receive a fillip once the five judges take oath of their new assignment.

Though it has a sanctioned strength of 31, it is working with only 23 judges.
Chief Justice of India J S Khehar, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant are retiring from the Supreme Court this year.