SC Collegium clears 68 names for HCs; 10 women, 44 from Bar

NEW DELHI: Making a determined bid to fill the large number of vacancies in High Courts across the country, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended 68 names, including 10 women, for elevation to the courts. This is the first time the Collegium has cleared so many names in one go.

The 3-member Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, which met on August 25 and September 1, picked the names from a list of 112 probables. The Collegium is learnt to have sought more details on 16 of the names considered in the latest round.

As per the Department of Justice, as on September 1, there were 465 vacancies in the 25 High Courts — 281 of permanent judges and 184 of Additional Judges — against a sanctioned strength of 1,098. Of these, the Allahabad High Court accounted for 68 vacancies, Punjab and Haryana for 40 and Calcutta for 36.

The recommendation of 68 names comes just a fortnight after another Collegium headed by the CJI cleared nine names in one go for the Supreme Court (a five-member Collegium picks judges for the apex court). After the nine names, including three women, were cleared by the government, they took oath on August 31.

Apart from the CJI, the Collegium that cleared names for the High Courts included Justices UU Lalit and AM Khanwilkar. While 16 names were recommended for appointment to the Allahabad High Court, 8 were chosen for Kerala, 6 each for Calcutta and Rajasthan, 5 each for Gauhati and Jharkhand, 4 each for Punjab and Haryana and Madras, 2 for Chhattisgarh, and 1 for Madhya Pradesh.

Forty-four of those recommended for appointment to the High Courts are members of the Bar and the rest are judicial officers.