The Supreme Court was hearing a case about the delay in the judges' appointments.
Forty-four judges will be cleared for appointment to the higher judiciary in three days, the government told the Supreme Court on Friday, after it was asked to "follow the law of the land" and not delay the process.
Hearing a petition on the delay in the appointment of judges, the Supreme Court asked the government to clear the pending names as early as possible.
Attorney General R Venkataramani assured the top court that it will follow the timeline and said that out of the 104 recommendations made by the collegium of high courts, which are pending with the government, 44 are likely to be processed and sent to the Supreme Court by this weekend.
However, when Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka asked Mr Venkataramani about five names recommended by the collegium for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court, the government's top legal officer said there was "a difference of opinion".
"Would your lordships defer this for a little while? I have some inputs given to me, but I may have some difference of opinion on that," the Attorney General said. The case will be heard again on February 3.
The Supreme Court collegium - a body of judges headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud - had last month recommended five judges, including Justices Pankaj Mithal and Sanjay Karol, the chief justices of high courts of Rajasthan and Patna, for elevation as judges of the top court.
The names joined a stack which is yet to be cleared by the government amid a debate over the process of appointing judges, with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju saying that "judges appointing judges is not an ideal system".
While hearing the case last month, the top court had said the collegium system of appointment of judges is the law of the land and comments against it are "not well taken".
The Supreme Court on Friday said that "every system will have its own flaws" but the prevailing law must be followed. "If you want to bring a new system, legislative can do it," the court added.
In an April 2021 order, the top court had said the centre should appoint judges within three-four weeks if the collegium reiterates its recommendations unanimously.