SC Collegium Recommends Advocate’s Appointment as Kerala HC Judge

The Supreme Court collegium, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, has recommended an advocate for appointment as a judge of the Kerala High Court to the Centre.

Apex Court Website

According to one of the resolutions published on the apex court website, the collegium also suggested that additional judges, Justices Jaggannagari Sreenivasa Rao and Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao, be appointed as permanent judges of the High Court for the State of Telangana to fill the existing vacancies.

Another resolution uploaded states that the collegium, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, recommended the name of advocate Sreeja Vijayalakshmi for appointment as a judge of the Kerala High Court.

“The recommendation for the appointment of the above candidate as a judge of the High Court of Kerala was made by the collegium of the high court on December 5, 2023,” the resolution stated.

“On March 12, 2024, consideration of the recommendation was deferred with a view to seeking a report from the Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala in consultation with members of the high court collegium on the suitability of the candidate in light of the inputs placed by the Department of Justice in the file,” it added.

Kerala High Court

The resolution mentioned that the chief justice of the Kerala High Court forwarded his report by a letter dated March 21 in response to a communication addressed to him by the CJI, after consulting with the members of the high court collegium on the suitability of the candidate.

“The members of the collegium of the high court have the benefit of hearing the arguments of the candidate under consideration and of assessing her performance and antecedents. The inputs furnished by the Department of Justice in the file have been duly considered by the collegium of the high court in pursuance of the earlier resolution of the collegium of the Supreme Court,” it said.

It noted that in terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, the apex court judges conversant with the affairs of the Kerala High Court were consulted to ascertain the fitness and suitability of the candidate.

“The Chief Minister and the Governor for the State of Kerala have conveyed their concurrence to the above recommendation,” the resolution said, adding, “The collegium, therefore, is of the considered view that Sreeja Vijayalakshmi is fit and suitable for appointment as a judge of the High Court of Kerala.”

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