Supreme Court judges to meet CJI Dipak Misra over Justice KM Joseph's name being third in appointment notification

Supreme Court judges, unhappy with the Centre altering the seniority of Justice KM Joseph for his appointment as Supreme Court judge, will meet Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Monday over the issue. The judges include collegium members who are unhappy as the presidential notification (of 4 August) listed Joseph at No 3 in terms of seniority thereby making him the junior most judge of the top court when he will be administered oath on Tuesday along with two other judges — Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Saran. [caption id=“attachment_4901071” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Supreme Court judge KM Joseph. PTI[/caption] The Times of India reported that the group intending to meet the chief justice believes that Joseph should take oath first as his name was recommended months prior to that of Banerjee and Saran. The recommendation for Joseph’s elevation as a top court judge was made by the collegium in January 2018, which was reiterated on 17 July. NDTV reported that the judges, including three from the collegium that recommends appointments, may have taken it up with Misra at the customary morning tea meeting before hearings and also reported that government sources have justified the order that places Joseph last among the three judges to be sworn in on Tuesday. The collegium while recommending Justice Joseph’s name described him as one of the most able and suitable. Seniority is not the only criteria for elevation as top court judge, but the government in order to frustrate the appointment of Joseph as top court judges have cited seniority as a consideration. Ever since the collegium recommended Joseph for elevation, the government and the judiciary have been at loggerheads. The warrants of appointment of the three judges were signed by President Ram Nath Kovind on 3 August. The swearing-in for the three judges elevated to Supreme Court is scheduled for 10:30 am on Tuesday. Joseph’s tenure lasts until 16 June, 2023. He earned the displeasure of the government after he set aside the imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand in 2016. With inputs from IANS.