New Delhi: Emphasising on bringing in representation from the North-East as well as diversity in the Supreme Court, the top court Thursday recommended the appointment of Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice R. Mahadevan as judges of the Supreme Court.
In its resolution, the collegium noted that there are two vacancies in the Supreme Court — the first due to the retirement of Justice Aniruddha Bose on 10 April, and the second due to the retirement of Justice A.S. Bopanna on 19 May.
It then asserted that the collegium considered the names of the Chief Justices of the High Courts and of senior Judges in the High Courts. In arriving at its recommendations, the collegium gave due regard to the seniority of judges under consideration, their merit as demonstrated by the judgments authored by the judges, their integrity, the need to ensure diversity in terms of region, gender and community, and the need for inclusion of the marginalised and backward segments of the community within the Supreme Court.
Recommending Justice Singh, the collegium noted that he originally hails from Manipur, and was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court in October 2011. On the formation of the High Court of Manipur, he was transferred as a judge of that HC from the Gauhati HC. In February last year, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and he is due to retire on 28 February, 2025.
The collegium noted that Justice Singh’s appointment “will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first Judge from the state of Manipur to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.”
As for Justice Mahadevan, the court noted that he is currently the acting chief justice of the Madras HC, and that he belongs to a backward community from the State of Tamil Nadu. His appointment, it said, “will bring diversity to the Bench”.
The collegium also clarified that it has taken due note of the fact that Justice Mahadevan ranks third in the order of presently serving judges of the Madras High Court, including the judges who have been posted as Chief Justices outside the Madras High Court. However, it said that his candidature was being given presence “in order to give representation to the backward community.”
From Tiranga rallies to pet boardings
As a judge, Justice Singh has been a part of benches that have delivered several significant verdicts, ranging from citizenship under the Foreigners’ Act, 1946 to concern over road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir, directing the constitution of an expert panel to tackle it. Benches headed by him have passed orders demanding progress on the implementation of the Right to Education Act, 2009, and directing the authorities to swiftly process the Army’s application for renovations and new constructions while emphasising strategic significance and national security.
In August last year, he also led a Tiranga rally in Srinagar, and remarked that participation in the Tiranga rally celebrations showed that Kashmir is getting back to normalcy.
Under his chief-justiceship, the HC last year also launched an action plan to reduce the pendency of cases, especially cases that have been pending for more than five years, before district courts. In March this year, speaking on the occasion of International Working Women’s Day, he emphasised on the need for society to recognise and grant women the spaces and rights they deserve. Earlier this year, the Jammu & Kashmir Judicial Academy (JKJA) under the patronage of Justice Singh, orchestrated a pre-appointment training programme for the newly selected Civil Judges (Junior Division), focussed on judicial ethics and skills enhancement.
Justice R. Mahadevan completed his law at the Madras Law College and enrolled in the year 1989. He was elevated as a judge of the high court in the year 2013.
In May this year, an order by a bench led by Justice Mahadevan enabled residents’ associations and groups of individuals in each locality to seek permission for cleaning temples and preserving their heritage. Benches headed by him have also directed the Tamil Nadu government to consider various representations, ranging from considering setting up ramps for the physically challenged at all beaches as well as sea shores across Tamil Nadu, to regulating pet boarding facilities in the State.
Earlier this month, a bench headed by him told the state government that the police could take action against lawyers who were using ‘Advocate’ stickers to seek immunity from traffic offences.
Earlier this year, another bench headed by him asserted that courts have to safeguard the family system in the country which is fast eroding. More recently, he expressed his concern over the overuse of digital gadgets and its impact on peoples’ vision, while delivering a keynote address after inaugurating the two-day Indian Intraocular Implant and Refractive Surgery Convention in Chennai.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray)
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