Centre asks collegium to reconsider K.M. Joseph’s elevation as SC judge

The Centre on Thursday asked the Supreme Court collegium to reconsider its recommendation for elevating Justice K M Joseph to the apex court, sources said.

This comes a day after the government cleared the appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge of the Supreme Court and kept in abeyance a decision on Justice Joseph, who heads the Uttarakhand High Court. Both names were recommended by the collegium earlier this year.

According to sources, the Union Law Minister has written to CJI Dipak Misra pointing out that Justice Joseph was ‘only No. 42 in the all India seniority list’ and that ‘there are 11 Chief Justices senior to him.’

The government’s decision of not approving Joseph’s name has evoked sharp reactions with the Supreme Court Bar Association President terming it as “disturbing”.

(With inputs from PTI)