Collegium may resend Joseph’s name to govt

Disagreeing with the Centre, Justice Kurian Joseph of the Supreme Court said on Saturday that regional representation and seniority cannot be the main criteria for the selection of judges of the SC, with the rejoinder being seen as a strong indication that the collegium might reiterate next week its recommendation for the elevation of Uttarakhand HC Chief Justice KM Joseph.

“It is not a regional issue, there are several issues to be explained. The collegium will respond to the letter sent by the government rejecting its recommendation,” Justice Kurian Joseph told TOI.

Collegium meet to present facts on Justice Joseph issue

The Centre returned to the SC this week its recommendation for Justice K M Joseph’s elevation, citing factors like seniority, balanced regional representation and the need to increase the presence of representatives of SCs and STs on the benches of the apex court.

Justice Joseph said the meeting of the SC collegium scheduled for Wednesday would present “facts” on the Justice K M Joseph issue. “What the government thought were facts are not facts, and the actual facts would be presented to them,” he said.

The SC judge said he was fully optimistic about the outcome of the meeting of the collegium. “The fact, the figures behind the earlier recommendation would be explained to the government. When facts and figures are presented, the government will realise what the actual facts are, and they may change their views,” he said.