The Central government on Thursday cleared the names of Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior advocate K.V. Viswanathan as judges to the Supreme Court.
The apex court collegium on Tuesday recommended their names for appointment as judges to the apex court.
Justice Mishra and Viswanathan will be sworn-in as Supreme Court judges on Friday.
Newly-appointed Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a tweet, said "In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon'ble President of India, after consultation with Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following as Judges of the Supreme Court of India: Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, and K V Viswanathan, senior advocate".
A notice, published on the website of the Supreme Court, said: "Please take notice of the Swearing-in-Ceremony of Hon'ble Mr. Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Mr. K V Viswanathan, Senior Advocate as Judges of the Supreme Court of India on May 19, 2023, 10:30 A.M. onwards shall be live streamed on the website of the Supreme Court of India...".
The Supreme Court collegium, in a resolution dated May 16, said: "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, the collegium finds Mr. Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Chief Justice, Andhra Pradesh High Court (PHC: Chhattisgarh) to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India."
The resolution said: "The collegium is conscious of the fact that the present Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court who was appointed as a judge on 31 March 2009 is drawn from the parent High Court of Chhattisgarh and ranks senior to Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra. However, having considered all relevant factors, the collegium is of the view that Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra is worthy of appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court."
The collegium said at present there is only one member from the Bar directly appointed to the Supreme Court bench, and in their considered opinion, Viswanathan is eminently suitable for being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.
"The appointment of K V Viswanathan will enhance the representation to the Bar in the composition of the Supreme Court. Viswanathan is a distinguished member of the Bar of the Supreme Court. His wide experience and profound knowledge will provide a significant value addition to the Supreme Court," it said.
Viswanathan was born on May 26, 1966 and on his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court would serve in that capacity until May 25, 2031. On the retirement of Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala on August 11, 2030, Viswanathan would be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India till his retirement.
Another notice published on the apex court website said: "Please take notice that the proceedings of the Hon'ble Chief Justice' Court i.e., Ceremonial Bench on May 19, 2023, on the retirement of Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.M. Joseph, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ajay Rastogi, and Hon'ble Mr. Justice V. Ramasubramanian, who will be laying down the office on Saturday, June 17, 2023, Sunday, June 18, 2023 and Friday, June 30, 2023 (F.N.), respectively, shall be livestreamed on the website of the Supreme Court of India."
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