SC collegium recommends Patna HC CJ K Vinod Chandran as top court judge

The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday recommended Patna High Court Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran to be appointed as a judge of the apex court.

The five-judge collegium led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna in a meeting held on Tuesday recommended the name of Justice Chandran, who was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court on November 8, 2011.

Justice Chandran was elevated as the Patna High Court Chief Justice and has been serving the position since March 29, 2023.

Given the Centre clears the recommendation, the Supreme Court judges' strength will rise to 33 compared to the sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

Supreme Court judge Justice C T Ravikumar demitted office on January 3.

"He has served as a judge of the high court for more than 11 years and as a chief justice of a big high court for more than a year. During his long tenure as a judge and chief justice of the high court, Justice Chandran has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law," said the collegium resolution.

The apex court collegium also comprising Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy and Abhay Oka said Justice Chandran stood at number 13 in the combined all-India seniority list of high court judges.

"In the seniority of judges hailing from the high court of Kerala, Justice K Vinod Chandran stands at serial number 1. While recommending his name, the collegium has taken into consideration the fact that there is no representation on the bench of the Supreme Court from the High Court of Kerala. The collegium has, therefore, unanimously recommended that Justice K Vinod Chandran be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India," the resolution said.

Another resolution of the collegium recommended the transfer of Bombay High Court Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya to the Delhi High Court.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru is currently serving as acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court after Justice Manohan was elevated to the Supreme Court.

The collegium further recommended Telangana High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe's transfer to the Bombay High Court.

It also approved the proposal to appoint additional judges Justice Kardak Ete and Mridul Kumar Kalita as permanent judges of Gauhati High Court.