The Supreme Court collegium on Wednesday unanimously recommended the elevation of Chief Justice, Telangana High Court, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and the Chief Justice, Kerala High Court, Justice S .Venkatanarayana Bhatti, as judges of the Supreme Court.
Five-judge collegium comprising of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Surya Kant unanimously approved and recommended to the Central government the appointment of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S. .Venkatanarayana Bhatti, as judges of the Supreme Court.
The top court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, but at present there are 31 judges – three judges short of its sanctioned strength.
Their appointment will be subject to order of seniority of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan followed by Justice S. .Venkatanarayana Bhatti.
Gauhati High Court is the parent High Court of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Andhra Pradesh High Court is parent High Court of Justice S. .Venkatanarayana Bhatti. Parent High court is one where Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti were appointed as judges in the first instance.
At present the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court since June 28, 2022, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was first appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011 and is the senior-most judge of his parent High Court. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has also served as a judge of the Bombay High Court.
A judge with a good reputation for integrity and competence, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has dealt with a wide spectrum of cases and has acquired experience in diverse fields of law with specialisation and domain knowledge in taxation law.
Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti was appointed as a Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on April 12, 2013 and is the senior most of the Andhra Pradesh High Court – his parent High Court – which has no representation in the top court since August 2022.
Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti was transferred to Kerala High Court in March 2019 and is presently serving as its Chief Justice since June 1, 2023.
During his long tenure as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and subsequently as judge and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice
Bhatti will provide a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience.
Justice Bhatti has considerable experience in various branches of law. The judgments authored by him dealing with issues in various branches of law stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence.