Apart from regular judicial work, Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia and four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court of India who comprise the collegium will have a busy year ahead, filling the vacancies caused by scheduled retirement of an unprecedented number of judges.
By October 15, seven judges of the Supreme Court will retire, the largest number of retirements in a single year since Independence. With two posts already vacant, the five-member collegium will have to appoint nine judges by this year.
If one takes into consideration the two retirements scheduled to take place in the first two months of next year, the number of vacancies that would arise will be 11.
Among those scheduled to retire are Justice R V Raveendran, a member of the collegium, and Justice Markandey Katju, who is known for his frank views on issues concerning the higher judiciary.
Justice P Sathasivam will take the place of Justice Raveendran in the collegium. Adding spice to the script are indications that the collegium could recommend at least two lawyers for elevation to the Supreme Court Bench. The last time this was done was in January 1999 when current Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde was nominated as judge of the Supreme Court.
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