ENDING the nearly two year long deadlock, Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana and comprising four senior most judges is learnt to have recommended nine names for appointment to the top court. Supreme Court judge Justice Navin Sinha is set to retire on Wednesday, which will leave the 10 vacancies out of 34 in the top court. According to sources familiar with the development, out of these 10 vacancies, the collegium has zeroed in on nine names. There has been no appointment after September 2019.

 

The list of recommendations includes three women judges, including B V Nagarathna from the Karnataka High Court, who if elevated now, could become the country’s first woman CJI in February 2027 and occupy the post until October 29, 2027, for 8 months. Justice Nagarathna would succeed Justice Surya Kant as CJI in February 2027. Justice Nagarathna’s father, Justice E S Venkataramiah, had been a CJI for a few months in 1989. The other two women judges selected by the collegium are justice Hima Kohli, who is the Chief Justice of Telangana HC, and justice Bela Trivedi, who is a judge in the Gujarat High Court. Senior advocate P S Narasimha is the collegium’s choice for direct appointment to the bench.