President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday appointed Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna as Supreme Court judges, notwithstanding a controversy surrounding the Collegium decision by which three judges were superseded.
Justice Maheshwari is the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court while Justice Khanna is a judge of the Delhi High Court.
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The Supreme Court Collegium on January 10 recommended their elevation.
On December 12, the Collegium, which comprises the top five judges of the Supreme Court, had recommended Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Rajendra Menon and Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog for elevation to the top court.
But the decision was reversed on January 10 by the new Collegium, which decided instead to elevate Justice Maheshwari and Justice Sanjeev Khanna.
Bar Council of India, while commenting on the elevation of High Court judges Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna to the Supreme Court, said its delegation will meet the Collegium to ask for recall of the decision and “If they don’t do it, we’ll sit on a dharna.”
The apex court is presently functioning with 26 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 31, leaving five clear vacancies.
(With Agency Inputs)
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