Amid discord, govt elevates 2 judges to Supreme Court

Amid row over elevation of judges, the Centre on Wednesday elevated Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna to Supreme Court. A notification for the same was issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice. The order was issued after President Ram Nath Kovind's nod. The top court is presently functioning with 26 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 31, leaving five clear vacancies.

According to reports, the Collegium on December 12 had recommended Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Rajendra Menon and Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog for elevation to the top court. But the decision was reversed on January 10 by the new Collegium, which decided instead to elevate Justice Maheshwari and Justice Khanna.

While recommending the names of Justice Maheshwari and Justice Khanna, the Collegium took into consideration the combined seniority on an all-India basis of Chief Justices, apart from their merit and integrity.