No move to send back SC Collegium recommendation for elevation of Indu Malhotra, KM Joseph: Law Ministry sources

Amid reports, sources in the Law Ministry said that there is no move to send back Supreme Court Collegium recommendation for the elevation of Indu Malhotra and KM Joseph as top court judges.

Earlier in the day, reports said that the government has rejected a recommendation to elevate senior advocate Indu Malhotra and Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph as judges of the apex court.

However, Law Ministry sources told DNA, "There is 'no move' to send back to SC collegium two names recommended for SC on Jan 10. Reports in this regard are incorrect. Names are still being processed."

Breaking: Sources in Law Ministry tell me "no move" to send back to SC collegium two names recommended for SC on Jan 10. "Reports in this regard are incorrect. Names are still being processed," sources say.

— Maneesh Chhibber (@maneeshchhibber) January 31, 2018

The name of Justice Joseph, who was part of the bench which in 2016 had quashed the imposition of President's Rule in the state, was cleared for elevation to the apex court in a collegium meeting held on January 10.

Justice Joseph was appointed as Permanent Judge of the Kerala High Court in 2004 and later transferred to Uttarakhand High Court where he assumed charge in 2014 as Chief Justice.

The recommendation was sent to the ministry, by the collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, amid an ongoing tussle in the top court which had come into fore after the unprecedented January 12 press conference by four senior-most judges there.

Besides the CJI, the collegium comprises of four senior-most judges of the top court -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- who had held the press conference highlighting various issues, including allocation of important and sensitive PILs, and questioned the manner in which the CJI was allocating them.