If appointed, KV Viswanathan will be in line to be Chief Justice of India on the retirement of Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala on 11 August 2030.
AP CJ Mishra, senior advocate KV Viswanathan.
The Supreme Court of India’s Collegium has recommended Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior member of the Supreme Court Bar Council KV Viswanathan to be appointed as judges of the Supreme Court.
In a notification, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 16 May, said that after 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, the Collegium found Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on 10 December, 2009.
He was appointed as the chief justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on 13 October, 2021. There is no representation of the High Court of Chhattisgarh in the present composition of the Supreme Court of India.
Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra has served as a judge of the high court for over 13 years and ranks at serial number 21 in the All-India Seniority List of judges of the high courts.
During his tenure of nearly 12 years as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Justice Mishra has acquired
significant experience in diverse fields of law. His judgements cover wide-ranging issues about law and justice.
“Besides, according to the representation to the state of Chhattisgarh, the appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar
Mishra will provide value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience,” the Collegium said.
Justice Mishra is a judge with integrity, it added.
Speaking to the South First, K Janaki Rami Reddy, president of Andhra Pradesh High Court Advocates’ Association described the elevation as well-deserved.
He said, “He has conducted the court proceedings smoothly since his appointment as the chief justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court. He is a very practical person and bar council friendly.”
Having regard to the fact that at present there is only one member from the Ccouncil directly appointed to the Supreme Court Bench, the Collegium has also considered the names of eminent members of the bar.
The appointment of KV Viswanathan would enhance the representation of the Bar Council in the composition of the Supreme Court, said the Collegium.
“Viswanathan is a distinguished member of the bar council of the Supreme Court. His wide experience and profound knowledge will provide significant value addition,” it added.
The Supreme Court said that it had a sanctioned strength of 34 judges and is currently functioning with only 32 judges.
Thus, there are two clear vacancies. With four more vacancies which are going to arise by the second week of July the working strength of judges would come to twenty-eight.
The Collegium has, however, unanimously resolved to recommend, for the present, names to fill up the two existing vacancies.
Senior Bar Council member KV Viswanathan was born on 26 May, 1966, and on his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court would serve in that capacity until 25 May, 2031.
On the retirement of Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala on 11 August, 2030, Viswanathan would be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India till his retirement.
This is not the first time that Viswanathan has been recommended for appointment as a Supreme Court judge.
Chief Justice Uday Umnesh Lalit had recommended Viswanathan, but due to some procedural reasons the entire exercise initiated by him for the appointment of four judges had to be shelved.
Viswanathan has been appointed as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in several matters, including latest case where the repeated extensions given to Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra was challenged, along with the amendment to the CVC Act which gave a five-year term to ED Director (two years initial appointment and three subsequent extensions of a year each).
Viswanathan told the court that such extensions would lead to stagnations in the official hierarchy and the amendment to the CVC Act was likely to be misused by future governments.
Viswanathan completed the five-year integrated law degree from Coimbatore Law College, Bharathiyar University, and enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988.
After practising before the Supreme Court for over two decades, he was designated as a senior advocate in 2009.
Viswanathan has appeared in a wide range of cases on diverse subjects, including Constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law, the law of insolvency, and arbitration.
His stature as an eminent member of the Bar Council has been recognised by the Supreme Court in numerous cases where he was appointed to assist the Court as amicus curiae.
Viswanathan has a sound understanding of law and is known in the legal fraternity for his integrity and as an upright senior member of the Bar, the Collegium said.
