Collegium recommends two new high court chief justices for elevation as judges to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the names of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S. Venkatanarayana as judges of the Supreme Court. 

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ON Wednesday, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the names of the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti as judges of the Supreme Court of India.

A resolution to this effect was signed by the collegium members, namely Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant.

Justice Bhuyan hails from Gauhati while Justice Bhatti has Andhra Pradesh High Court as his parent high court. If appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Bhatti will retire on May 5, 2027 and Justice Bhuyan will retire on August 1, 2029.

The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges and is presently functioning with 31 judges. 

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Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011. He is the senior-most judge of his parent high court and has been serving as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court since June 28, 2022. 

The collegium decision notes: "During his long tenure as a judge of the high court, Justice Bhuyan has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. He has acquired specialisation and domain knowledge in the law of taxation."

Justice Bhuyan, the collegium resolution reads, has also served as a judge of the Bombay High Court dealing with a wide spectrum of cases including those related to taxation.

The resolution also notes that he is a judge with a good reputation for integrity and competence. 

Justice Bhuyan, if appointed, will be the second judge from Gauhati in the Supreme Court. Justice Hrishikesh Roy, who is presently serving as a judge of the Supreme Court, also hails from Gauhati. 

Justice Bhatti was appointed as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on April 12, 2013, and is the senior-most judge at that high court.  

Also read: Collegium recommends Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior advocate K.V. Viswanathan for judgeship of the Supreme Court

One reason for the collegium to recommend his name is that the Andhra Pradesh High Court does not have any representation on the Bench of the Supreme Court since August 2022, when Justice N.V. Ramana retired.

Justice Bhatti was transferred to the Kerala High Court in March 2019 and has been serving as Chief Justice of that court since June 1, 2023.