Collegium recommends Delhi HC Chief Justice Manmohan’s elevation to Supreme Court

The Collegium recommended the elevation of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Manmohan as judge of the Supreme Court on Thursday. The Supreme Court collegium on Thursday passed a unanimous resolution recommending to the Centre the name of Justice Manmohan for elevation.

The Supreme Court‘s resolution stated that the Collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of chief justices and senior judges of the high courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court.

“Justice Manmohan stands at serial number 2 in the combined all-India seniority of high court judges and he is the senior-most judge in the High Court of Delhi,” it said.

“While recommending his name, the collegium has taken into consideration the fact that, at present, the bench of Supreme Court is represented by only one judge from the High Court of Delhi,” the statement read further.

“The Supreme Court Collegium has, therefore, unanimously recommended that Justice Manmohan be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India,” read.

It said Justice Manmohan was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on March 13, 2008 and has been functioning as its chief justice since September 29, 2024.

Who is Justice Manmohan?

Justice Manmohan was appointed as the acting chief justice of the Delhi High Court on November 9, 2023.

Justice Manmohan, 61, is the son of late Jagmohan, a famous bureaucrat-turned politician who also served as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

Justice Manmohan, who was then a senior advocate, was appointed as an additional judge of Delhi High Court on March 13, 2008 and made a permanent judge on December 17, 2009.

He enrolled as an advocate in 1987 after obtaining a law degree from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.

The five-member collegium is headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna. The other collegium members include Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy and AS Oka.

The Supreme Court currently has a strength of 32 judges against the sanctioned 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. There were two vacancies in the Supreme Court after Justice Hima Kohli and former CJI DY Chandrachud retired.

(With inputs from agencies)