Top 3 Skipped, 4-6 Recommended: Why Seniority Is Perhaps Not The Only Criterion In SC Collegium’s Latest Picks
New Delhi: What happens when judges ranked fourth, fifth and sixth in the all-India seniority of High Court judges are recommended for the Supreme Court, while judges senior to them do not figure in the latest recommendation? That is the question drawing attention after the Supreme Court Collegium on September 28 recommended Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar…
On September 28, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended three judges for elevation to the apex court. The recommended judges - Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh - are fourth, fifth and sixth in the seniority of High Court judges respectively. However, senior judges are not included in this recommendation.
The Collegium did not publicly explain why these particular judges were chosen over those with higher seniority. Seniority, while important, is not always the sole factor considered. Previous Collegium decisions show that merit and integrity are also taken into account. The three recommended judges come from different High Courts, with Agarwal and Upadhyaya hailing from the Allahabad High Court and Singh from the Telangana High Court.
If all recommendations are approved, Agarwal would become the third woman judge on the Supreme Court.
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