Four vacancies in Supreme Court: Two from Gujarat HC in the running

To balance regional representation in the apex court, sources told The Indian Express that Justices K S Jhaveri and D N Patel —both judges whose parent High Court is Gujarat — are in the race for elevation to the top court. Currently, Justice M R Shah, who was elevated in November, last year is the only judge from Gujarat High Court.

Justice Jhaveri, the Chief Justice of Odisha High Court, was appointed an additional judge of the Gujarat High Court in 2004 and was made permanent in 2005.

Justice D N Patel, the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court was appointed an additional judge of the Gujarat High Court in 2004 and was made permanent in 2006.

However, another key appointment of a Gujarat High Court judge, Justice Akil Kureshi as chief justice of Madhya Pradesh HC, is awaiting a nod from the Centre since May.

The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court was increased from 30 to 33, besides the Chief Justice of India, through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, approved by the President on August 5 this year. The last set of appointments to the top court was made in May, taking the court to full strength for the first time in a decade.

Other names that are likely to be considered are Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, and Justice Ravindra Bhat, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court.

Justice Roy was appointed a permanent judge of Gauhati High Court in 2008. Sources said his name is being considered to ensure representation of the Northeast in the top court after the lone judge from the region —CJI Ranjan Gogoi — retires in October.

The Delhi High Court will have three judges if Justice Bhat is elevated — Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjeev Khanna are from Delhi HC.

Currently, Bombay and Karnataka High Courts have most judges in the Supreme Court — four and three, respectively. While Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, A M Khanwilkar and Bhushan Gavai are from Bombay HC, Justices Abdul Nazeer, Mohan Shanatagoudar and A S Bopanna are from Karnataka HC.

Five High Courts have no representation in the apex court: Chattisgarh (22 sanctioned judges), Jharkhand (25), Jammu and Kashmir (13), Odisha (27), and Uttarakhand (11).