INDIA MAY GET FIRST WOMAN CJI IN 2027 AS COLLEGIUM’S LIST OF 9 HAS THREE WOMEN

The Supreme Court Collegium has issued a statement recommending names of nine judges, including three women judges from which one could become the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027.

The Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana recommends nine names to the Central government for the appointment as judges to the top court. The meeting of Collegium was held on 17 August. The names include Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court A.S. Oka, Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari of Sikkim High Court, Kerala High Court judge C.T. Ravikumar, Madras High Court judge M.M. Sundresh.

The three women judges recommended by the Collegium are Justice B.V. Nagarathna of the Karnataka High Court, Justice Hima Kohli of Telangana High Court, and Bela Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court.

If Collegium’s recommendation is considered and Justice B.V. Nagarathna is elevated to the top court as a judge, then she could likely become India’s first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027.

The name of senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narasimha, advocate practising in the Supreme Court was also recommended by the Collegium. Narasimha will be the ninth lawyer ever to be appointed directly from the Bar to the Supreme Court, if his recommendation is cleared by the Central government.

The Supreme Court Collegium comprises of five senior-most judges, led by Chief Justice Ramana, Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud, and L. Nageswara Rao.

The Supreme Court—which has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice, is functioning with only 24 judges and with the retirement of Justice Navin Sinha on Wednesday, the actual strength of the apex court has come down to 23 judges. WITH ANI INPUTS