SC Collegium Recommends Delhi HC CJ Manmohan for Appointment as SC Judge
The Supreme Court Collegium, led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna, unanimously recommended to the Union government the appointment of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Manmohan as a judge of the Supreme Court. Currently, the SC, with a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the CJI, is functioning with 32 judges. A year ago, the Delhi High Court had four representatives on the SC bench, but with the retirements of Justices S.R. Bhat, Sanjay K. Kaul, and Hima Kohli, this number has now dropped to just one, with CJI Khanna.
The Collegium, also comprising Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy and A S Oka met on Thursday afternoon and agreed to recommend Justice Manmohan’s appointment as a judge of the SC, just 20 days before his retirement as HC judge on Dec 16, 2024. On being appointed as SC Judge, Justice Manmohan would have a tenure of little more than three years in the SC.
Manmohan, who learnt his court craft as a junior of senior advocate Kapil Sibal and gradually handled bigger cases including the TADA case against actor Sanjay Dutt in the Mumbai blast case, was appointed as a judge of the Delhi HC on Mar 13, 2008. He has been functioning as chief justice of the HC since Sep 29 this year and is second in the combined all-India seniority list of judges. Justice Manmohan has been the acting CJ of Delhi HC since November 9 last year
In its resolution recommending Justice Manmohan’s name for appointment as SC judge, the Collegium 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 Delhi HC. The SC Collegium has, therefore, unanimously recommended that Justice Manmohan be appointed as a Judge of the SC”.
Manmohan, the son of Jagmohan Malhotra, former Union minister and Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, completed his law degree from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, in 1987, after graduating in history from Hindu College. He was appointed as a senior advocate in January 2003 and has represented clients in several high-profile cases, including the Dabhol Power Company, Hyderabad Nizam’s Jewellery Trust dispute, Claridges Hotel conflicts, and the Fatehpur Sikri encroachment case.
