The Supreme Collegium, presided over by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, recommended the appointment of five additional justices as permanent judges of Madras High Court on Thursday. The collegium, which also includes Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kishan Kaul met and later in the day, the collegium's decision was posted online by the Supreme Court.
The five additional judges whose names have been recommended include Justices A A Nakkiran, Nidumolu Mala, S Sounthar, Sunder Mohan and Kabali Kumaresh Babu. The nomination of the judges as permanent judges of the Madras High Court had been unanimously approved by the collegium of that court on June 20, 2023. The Governor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu have also agreed with the aforementioned suggestion, according to a statement from the apex court collegium, reported PTI.
Further, the statement said, "In terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, we have consulted a judge of the Supreme Court conversant with the functioning of the Madras High Court with a view to ascertain the suitability of the above Additional Judges for being appointed as permanent judges."
"The Committee of two judges of the Supreme Court constituted by the Chief Justice of India in terms of the Resolution dated October 26, 2017 of the Supreme Court Collegium has assessed the judgments of the above named Additional Judges," it said, as per the report.
The collegium stated that it carefully reviewed the information on file in order to appraise the candidates' qualifications for nomination as permanent judges and their merit.
In another decision, the collegium recommended the nomination of two more judges as permanent judges and the appointment of an additional judge to a one-year term.
"Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde and Justice Kannankuzhyil Sreedharan Hemalekha, Additional Judges, be appointed as permanent judges of the High Court of Karnataka against the existing vacancies. Justice Siddaiah Rachaiah, instead of being appointed as permanent judge, may be appointed as an Additional Judge for a fresh term of one year with effect from November 8, 2023," the collegium said.