Justice KM Joseph's 'juniority' had become a raging issue.
On Monday, Justice Kumari Indira Banerjee, Justice Vineet Saran and Justice KM Joseph took oath as SC judges. Three new judges took oath of office in the Supreme Court. They were administered by CJI Dipak Mishra. This increased the number of women judges in the Supreme Court has now increased to three. Before Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice R Banumati and Justice Indu Malhotra are acting judges in the Supreme Court.
This takes the number of judges in the Supreme Court is 25, while the court has a vacancy for 31 judges.
There was outrage over KM Joseph's seniority in the list. The Centre on its part said it went purely by the "time tested" principle of high court seniority list. It came out with a notification last Friday on the appointment of three judges to the apex court by putting at third position the seniority of Justice K M Joseph.
The notifications were issued on Saturday after President Ram Nath Kovind signed warrants of their appointments. Justice Banerjee will become the eighth woman judge in the history of the Supreme Court.
She will succeed the likes of Fathima Beevi, Sujata V. Manohar, Ruma Pal, Gyan Sudha Misra and Ranjana Prakash Desai.
Justice Banerjee was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta high court on February 5, 2002 and was transferred to Delhi HC on August 8, 2016. She was elevated as Chief Justice of Madras HC on April 5, 2017. She stands at serial number 4 in the combined seniority of high court judges on all-India basis.
Justice Saran was appointed as a judge in the Allahabad high court on February 14, 2002 and was transferred to the Karnataka High Court on February 16, 2015. He was elevated as the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court on February 26, 2016. He stands at serial number 5 in the combined seniority of high court judges on all-India basis.
Justice Joseph's name was recommended for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court by the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on January 10. On April 30, the government had returned the recommendation for reconsideration on the grounds that he lacked seniority. Justice Joseph was already in news for striking down the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand in 2016 after the dismissal of a Congress government led by Harish Rawat.
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 "Justice KM Joseph, Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Saran")
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