SC collegium reiterates 13 names in 7 months for appointment as HC judges; Govt appoints 8

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended 127 names for appointment as judges in the higher judiciary between December 1 last year and July 26 and out of these, 61 appointments were made, the government informed Lok Sabha on Friday.

Besides these 127 fresh recommendations, the top court collegium also reiterated 13 names in the same period of which eight appointments have been made, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply.

"During the period December 1, 2021 to July 26, 2022, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended 140 names (127 fresh and 13 reiterated). Out of 127 fresh recommendations, 61 appointments have been made including extension of term of one additional judge and 66 cases which have been recommended by Supreme Court Collegium recently are at various stages of processing with the government," he said.

During the same period, 13 proposals were reiterated out of which eight appointments have been made, he added.

Filling up of vacancies in the high courts is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the Executive and the Judiciary, he said.

The process requires consultation and approval from various constitutional authorities both at the state and central level, he noted.

"While every effort is made to fill up the existing vacancies expeditiously, vacancies of judges in high courts do keep on arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of judges and also due to increase in the strength of judges," Rijiju said.