New Delhi: Sending back one of the two names recommended for elevation as Supreme Court judges, the centre has said that the proposal for reconsideration sent to the group of five most senior Supreme Court judges has the approval of the President and the Prime Minister.
On January 19, the Supreme Court had recommended the names of senior advocate Indu Malhotra and Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court KM Joseph.
While clearing the name of Indu Malhotra, who would be the first woman lawyer to be directly elevated to the Supreme Court, the government said it was "constrained" to segregate Justice Joseph's name.
"In the All India High Court Judges' seniority list, Justice Joseph is placed at serial number 42. There are presently 11 chief justices of various high courts who are senior to him," the law ministry wrote.
Right now, the Supreme Court has one judge who started off from Kerala High Court -- Justice Kurian Joseph. He is due to retire in November this year. The chief justices of the high courts of Kerala and Chhattisgarh too come from the Kerala high court.
"From our records, it is evident that to ensure regional representation, seniority may not have been taken as an important consideration but in case where the (parent) high court is adequately represented in the Supreme Court and also as chief justices of high courts, this consideration cannot be, and should not be, ignored altogether to the detriment and prejudice of other senior judges," the law ministry said.
Ever since Justice KG Balakrishnan retired as the Chief Justice of India in 2010, not a single Dalit judge has been elevated to the Supreme Court or as Chief Justice of a high court.
On January 19, the Supreme Court had recommended the names of senior advocate Indu Malhotra and Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court KM Joseph.
While clearing the name of Indu Malhotra, who would be the first woman lawyer to be directly elevated to the Supreme Court, the government said it was "constrained" to segregate Justice Joseph's name.
"In the All India High Court Judges' seniority list, Justice Joseph is placed at serial number 42. There are presently 11 chief justices of various high courts who are senior to him," the law ministry wrote.
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Right now, the Supreme Court has one judge who started off from Kerala High Court -- Justice Kurian Joseph. He is due to retire in November this year. The chief justices of the high courts of Kerala and Chhattisgarh too come from the Kerala high court.
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"From our records, it is evident that to ensure regional representation, seniority may not have been taken as an important consideration but in case where the (parent) high court is adequately represented in the Supreme Court and also as chief justices of high courts, this consideration cannot be, and should not be, ignored altogether to the detriment and prejudice of other senior judges," the law ministry said.
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Ever since Justice KG Balakrishnan retired as the Chief Justice of India in 2010, not a single Dalit judge has been elevated to the Supreme Court or as Chief Justice of a high court.
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