Collegium statement reveals Justice KM Joseph expressed reservation about elevation of Justice Aravind Kumar to Supreme Court

The statement published by Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday recommending elevation of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Aravind Kumar as Supreme Court judges stood out for various reasons. .For one, it expressly spelt out that the two recommendations of Tuesday should be notified by the Law Ministry only after the five recommendations made in December last year which are yet to be notified by the government. .But more than that, the resolution seemed to address another aspect - the call to the Collegium for greater transparency.In what could be seen as a baby step towards the same, the resolution of Tuesday spelt out reasons for recommending the two judges for elevation to the top court. Pertinently, the resolution also revealed which of the Collegium members supported/ opposed the recommendations..Justice KM Joseph opposesWhat stood out in the Collegium resolution was that it stated which member/s of the judges body supported/ opposed the recommendations.As per the resolution, the recommendation of Justice Bindal was unanimous.But the sailing was not smooth as far as Justice Kumar was concerned. One of the Collegium members, Justice KM Joseph expressed his reservations on the ground that his name could be considered at a later stage..Factors consideredAs per the resolution, the Collegium considered the following factors when making recommendations:- The seniority of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges in their respective parent High Courts as well as overall seniority of the High Court Judges; - The merit, performance and integrity of the judges under consideration; and - The need to ensure diversity and inclusion in the Supreme Court by: (i) representation of High Courts which are not represented or are inadequately represented, in the Supreme Court; (ii) appointing persons from marginalized and backward segments of society; (iii) gender diversity; and (iv) representation of minorities..Reasons for elevation of Justice Rajesh BindalThe resolution highlighted that Justice Bindal stands at number 2 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges and he is the senior most judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The resolution said that while recommending his name, the Collegium took into consideration the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court which is one of the largest High Courts with a sanctioned strength of eighty five judges is not adequately represented in the Supreme Court. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is a common High Court for two States, it further said..Reasons for elevation of Justice Aravind KumarThe Collegium noted that Justice Aravind Kumar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on June 26, 2009 and as permanent Judge on December 7, 2012. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat on October 13 2021. Justice Aravind Kumar stands at number 26 in the combined All-India seniority of High Court judges. The Collegium statement said that while recommending his name, the Collegium was conscious of the fact that in the seniority of judges hailing from the Karnataka High Court, Justice Aravind Kumar stands at number 2 and that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by two judges from the Karnataka High Court.