Supreme Court collegium recommends names of CJ of Gauhati High Court, Gujarat High Court judge for elevation

New Delhi, May 6

The Supreme Court collegium headed by CJI NV Ramana has recommended to the Centre the names of Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Gujarat High Court Judge Justice Jamshed B Pardiwala for elevation as judges to the top court, an official statement said on Friday.

The recommendations, if accepted by the Centre, would ensure that the apex court would regain its full strength of 34 judges and Justice Pardiwala would go on to become the CJI for over two years.

“The Supreme Court collegium has recommended elevation of the following Chief Justice/Judge of the High Courts as Judges in the Supreme Court: 1. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, Chief Justice, Gauhati High Court, (Parent High Court: Uttarakhand); and 2. Justice JB Pardiwala, Judge, Gujarat High Court,” said the collegium’s resolution posted on the apex court website.

Besides the CJI, seniormost judge Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and justices AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao are part of the collegium.

Justice Dhulia, who will be the second judge to be elevated from the Uttarakhand High Court, is the sibling of national award-winning film director and actor Tigmanshu Dhulia and would have a tenure of a little over three years.

Justice Pardiwala will be the fourth judge from the Parsi community to adorn the top court bench and the first high court judge from the minority community who has been elevated in the last five years after Justice S Abdul Nazeer.

Justice Nazeer was elevated to the Supreme Court in February 2017.

With the retirement of Justice R Subhash Reddy on January 4 this year, the total strength of apex court judges had come down to 32 against the sanctioned strength of 34 and now the fresh recommendation, if acted upon, will ensure full strength in the top court.

Justice Dhulia, born on August 10, 1960, hails from Madanpur, a remote village in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, and joined the Bar at the Allahabad High Court in 1986.

Justice Pardiwala, born on August 12, started practising Law in the High Court of Gujarat in 1990.

The CJI, who himself will demit office on August 26 this year, has been successful in evolving consensus in the five-judge collegium to unanimously recommend a record number of 11 names so far, since August last year.