Collegium will Reiterate Justice K. M. Joseph's Recommendation

The Supreme Court collegium met today to discuss Justice K. M. Joseph's elevation to the Supreme Court. According to reports, the collegium has decided that they would reiterate Justice K. M. Joseph's name along with other names once they are finalised. For this purpose, the collegium has scheduled another meeting on May 16.

On May 2, the Supreme Court collegium had deferred its decision on the reiterating Justice K M Joseph's name. The collegium had earlier recommended two names to the government for the appointment: Senior Counsel Indu Malhotra and Justice K M Joseph. While Malhotra became Justice Malhotra, Justice Joseph was not elevated to the Supreme Court. CJI Dipak Misra backed the government's actions, stating that there is nothing wrong if the government returns a recommendation.

The government’s move to split the file containing the collegium recommendations was opposed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). Though Justice Indu Malhotra's elevation was welcomed by members of the bar, they questioned the government's move to hive off Justice Joseph's name. Former CJI Lodha also expressed his views on the matter, presumably, as it was reminiscent of the time he was the CJI when the government had done something similar regarding Senior Counsel Gopal Subramanium's name. The matter resulted in the Senior Counsel withdrawing his consent for the nomination, thus saving his reputation as well as delaying an inevitable confrontation between the Apex Court and the government.

What is strange is that the collegium, instead of reiterating Justice K M Joseph's name, has instead opted to reiterate his name along with other names to the government. They may recommend some SC/ST names, as well as names from other states that may be 'under-represented' in the Supreme Court. This would be a wise move to avoid a repeat of the government's half-baked reasoning for returning Justice Joseph's recommendation. However, a delay in appointment affects the seniority succession in the Supreme Court.