Collegium Recommends Two Judges For Elevation To Supreme Court

Two judges have been recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court -- Guwahati High Court Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Gujarat High Court Judge Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala. The five-member Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, has sent the recommendations to the government, sources said.

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia joined the Bar at Allahabad High Court in 1986 and shifted to home state Uttarakhand when it was formed in 2000. He was the first Chief Standing Counsel in the High Court of Uttarakhand and was later an Additional Advocate General for the State of Uttarakhand.

He was elevated as the Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court in November 2008 and later became the Chief Justice of the High Court of Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.  

Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala, a fourth generation legal professional, started practicing law at the High Court of Gujarat in 1990. He was appointed as the Standing Counsel for the High Court of Gujarat in 2002 and held the office till the date of his elevation to the Bench on 17 February 2011.  

The Supreme Court Collegium comprises Chief Justice of India JI Ramana and Justices UU Lalit, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, and L Nageswara Rao.

The current strength of the Supreme Court is 32 and two berths need to be filled to reach the maximum sanctioned strength of 34. But two more berths are expected to fall vacant with the retirement of Justices Vineet Sharan and Nageshwara Rao.

Four other judges, including Chief Justice Ramana are due to retire later this year.  

In September last year, the collegium recommended 9 names for elevation to the Bench of Supreme Court. All nine received instant approval of government.

The same month, the collegium also recommended 68 names at one go for elevation as judges to 12 High Courts that were facing a severe crunch.