Centre notifies appointments of Justices Rajesh Bindal, Aravind Kumar as SC Judges

New Delhi [India], February 10 (ANI): The Union of India on Friday notified the appointments of two more judges to the Supreme Court of India.

The Government issued a notification of the appointment of Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Aravind Kumar as Judges of the Supreme Court. Justice Rajesh Bindal the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court and Justice Aravind Kumar the Chief Justice of Gujrat High Court are likely to take oath on Monday as judges of Supreme Court.

Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted stating, “As per the provisions under the Constitution of India, President of India has appointed the following Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court. My best to them. 1.Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice, Allahabad HC. 2.Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice, Gujarat HC.”

With their appointment, the apex court will have full working strength of 34 judges.
The Supreme Court Collegium had on January 31, 2023, recommended the names of Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arvind Kumar for elevation as Judges to Supreme Court.

While recommending their names the Collegium also gave a detailed explanation of the parameters discussed. It stated that the elevation of Justice Rajesh Bindal was a unanimous decision of all Collegium members, while Justice Aravind Kumar’s name had the nod of all members except Justice KM Joseph.

The SC Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud along with justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, K.M. Joseph, M.R. Shah, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna made the recommendation.

The Collegium said that they found both of the judges to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India after carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations.

While recommending the above names the Collegium took into consideration the various aspects including the seniority of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges in their respective parent High Courts as well as the overall seniority of the High Court Judges among others.

Other aspects that were considered were the merit, performance and integrity of the judges, the need to ensure diversity and inclusion in the Supreme Court by the representation of High Courts which are not represented or are inadequately represented, in the Supreme Court, appointing persons from marginalized and backward segments of society, gender diversity and
representation of minorities.

Justice Rajesh Bindal was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 22, 2006. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on 11 October 2021. “Justice Bindal stands at Sl. No.02 in the combined All-India-seniority of High Court Judges.

He is the seniormost Judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court which is one of the largest High Courts with a sanctioned strength of eighty-five judges are not adequately represented on the Bench of the Supreme Court. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is a common High Court for two States,” the collegium resolution said.

Justice Arvind Kumar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on 26 June 2009 and as a permanent Judge on December 7, 2012. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat on October 13, 2021.

“Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.26 in the combined All-India-seniority of High Court Judges. While recommending his name, the Collegium is conscious of the fact that in the seniority of Judges hailing from the Karnataka High Court, Mr Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.02 and that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by two Judges from the Karnataka High Court,” the collegium resolution said.