Joseph, 2 others take oath as SC justices

JUSTICES BANERJEE, SARAN AND JOSEPH WERE ADMINISTERED THE OATH OF OFFICE COURT IN THAT ORDER.

NEWDELHI: Justice KM Joseph was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on Tuesday after justice Indira Banerjee and justice Vineet Saran amidst a controversy over his elevation and altered seniority.

Justices Banerjee, Saran and Joseph were administered the oath of office by chief justice of India Dipak Misra in the Supreme Court in that order. The government last week cleared the names of justice Banerjee, justice Saran and justice Joseph for appointment to the Supreme Court.

But the move triggered a controversy as some senior judges of the Supreme Court felt justice Joseph should be considered senior to the other two judges as his name was cleared by the collegium, which makes appointments to the higher judiciary, in January this year, long before it recommended the names of Banerjee and Saran for elevation.

The matter was raised with the CJI by justices M B Lokur, Jospeh Kurian and AK Sikri on Monday morning, two persons familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified.

Justice Joseph’s elevation to the top court put an end to a stand-off between the government and the judiciary.

His appointment was first cleared by the Supreme Court collegium in January.

The government sent back the file for reconsideration by the collegium in April on grounds that justice Joseph was not senior enough and that having two judges from the Kerala high court would be against the principles of regional representation.

In July, justice Joseph’s name was reiterated by the collegium, eventually leading to the government clearing his appointment.

The seniority issue is particularly important if a judge is in line to become a future chief justice of India, but that scenario does not apply in justice Joseph’s case.

The strength of judges in the top court has gone up to 25 against the sanctioned strength of 31 judges with the three new judges taking the oath of office.

With justice Banerjee, the number of sitting women judges in the top court has risen to an alltime high of three.

The supreme court has never had three women judges simultaneously since its inception in 1950.

Justice Banerjee, 60, is the eighth woman judge to be elevated to the top court after Fathima Beevi, Sujata V Manohar, Ruma Pal, Gyan Sudha Misra, Ranjana Prakash Desai, R Banumathi and Indu Malhotra.

Justice Malhotra recently became the first woman judge to be directly appointed to the top court from the bar.

Justice Bhanumati is the other current top court woman judge.