The five-judge collegium unanimously approved and recommended to the central government their appointment as judges of the apex court.
Justices Venkatanarayana Bhatti and Ujjal Bhuyan. (Creative Commons)
The Supreme Court collegium on Wednesday, 5 July, unanimously recommended the elevation of the chief justice of Telangana High Court, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, and his Kerala High Court counterpart Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, as judges of the apex court.
The five-judge collegium — comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant — unanimously approved and recommended to the Union government the appointment of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Venkatanarayana Bhatti as judges of the Supreme Court.
The top court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, but there are 31 judges at present — three judges short.
The new appointments are subject to the order of the seniority of Justice Bhuyan, followed by Justice Bhatti.
The Gauhati High Court is the parent high court of Justice Bhuyan and the Andhra Pradesh High Court is the parent high court of Justice Bhatti. The parent high court is where judges get their first appointment.
The chief justice of the Telangana High Court since 28 June, 2022, Justice Bhuyan was first appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on 17 October, 2011, and is the senior-most judge of his parent high court.
He has also served as a judge of the Bombay High Court.
A judge with a good reputation for integrity and competence, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has dealt with a wide spectrum of cases and has acquired experience in diverse fields of law with specialisation and domain knowledge in taxation law.
Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti was appointed as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on 12 April, 2013, and is the senior-most of the Andhra Pradesh High Court — his parent high court — which has had no representation in the top court since August 2022.
Justice Bhatti was transferred to the Kerala High Court in March 2019 and has been serving as its chief justice since 1 June, 2023.
During his long tenure as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and, subsequently, as judge and the chief justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice Bhatti will provide a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience.
He has considerable experience in various branches of law. The judgements authored by him dealing with issues in various branches of law stand as testimony to his legal acumen and competence.
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
