Centre notifies appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Senior Adv KV Viswanathan as Judges of SC

NEW DELHI: The Central Government on Thursday notified the appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan as Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tweeted in those regards and stated that, in the exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan as Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday replaced Kiren Rijiju and took charge as the new Law and Justice minister of India.

According to the circular issued by the Supreme Court of India, the Swearing-in-Ceremony will be held on May 19, 2023, and live-streamed on the website of the Supreme Court of India.

On May 16, 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan to be elevated as judges of the apex court.

The Collegium further said that on the retirement of Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala on August 11, 2030, senior Advocate Viswanathan would be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India till his retirement on May 25, 2031.

According to SC Collegium resolution, Senior Advocate K V Viswanathan was born on May 26, 1966, and on his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court would serve in that capacity until May 25 2031.

In a collegium resolution passed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna, the decision was taken to recommend the name of Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan for appointment as judges of the top court.

After carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, the Collegium found Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Chief Justice, Andhra Pradesh High Court

(Parent HC: Chhattisgarh) to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
The Collegium unanimously resolved to recommend that Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on 10 December 2009. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on 13 October 2021. There is no representation to the High Court of Chhattisgarh in the present composition of the Supreme Court of India.

Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra has served as a judge of the High Court for over thirteen years and ranks at serial number 21 in the All-India Seniority List of judges of the High Courts. During his tenure of nearly twelve years as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Justice Mishra has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law.

His judgments cover wide-ranging issues pertaining to law and justice. Besides, according to the representation to the State of Chhattisgarh, the appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra will provide value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience. Justice Mishra is a judge with integrity, the collegium said.

The Collegium said that it is conscious of the fact that the present Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court who was appointed as a judge on March 31, 2009, is drawn from the parent High Court of Chhattisgarh and ranks senior to Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra.

However, having considered all relevant factors, the Collegium is of the view that Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra is worthy of appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court, the Collegium resolution said.

Having regard to the fact that at present there is only one member from the Bar directly appointed to the Supreme Court Bench, the Collegium has also considered the names of eminent members of the Bar. In their considered opinion, K V Viswanathan, Senior Advocate is eminently suitable for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

The appointment of K V Viswanathan will enhance the representation of the Bar in the composition of the Supreme Court. Viswanathan is a distinguished member of the Bar of the Supreme Court. His wide experience and profound knowledge will provide significant value addition to the Supreme Court, the collegium said.

K V Viswanathan completed the five-year integrated law degree from Coimbatore Law College, Bharathiyar University and enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988. After practising before the Supreme Court for over two decades, he was designated as a senior advocate in 2009.

Viswanathan has appeared in a wide range of cases on diverse subjects including Constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law, the law of Insolvency, and Arbitration. His stature as an eminent member of the Bar has been recognised by the Supreme Court in numerous cases where he was appointed to assist the Court as amicus curiae.

Viswanathan has a sound understanding of the law and is known in the legal fraternity for his integrity and as an upright senior member of the Bar, the collegium said.

The Supreme Court of India has a sanctioned strength of thirty-four Judges and is presently functioning with thirty-two Judges. Thus, there are two clear vacancies. With four more vacancies which are going to arise by the second week of July the working strength of Judges would come to twenty-eight.

The Collegium has, however, unanimously resolved to recommend, for the present, names to fill up the two existing vacancies.

The Collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of Chief Justices and Senior puisne Judges of the High Courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court.(ANI)