The Supreme Court Collegium has decided to reiterate its previous recommendation for the appointment of Mr R. John Sathyan, Advocate, to the Madras High Court.
He reportedly shared an article published in “The Quint” that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and another post about the suicide of medical aspirant Anitha, who ended her life in 2017 because she was unable to clear NEET, portraying it as a killing by “political betrayal” and a tag stating “shame on you.” Mr Sathyan’s suitability was deemed acceptable by all consultee-judges. According to the Intelligence Bureau, he has a good personal and professional image, and nothing negative has been discovered about his integrity. Mr Sathyan is a member of the Christian faith. The Collegium is of the considered opinion that Mr R. John Sathyan is fit and suitable for being appointed as a Judge of the Madras High Court. The Collegium recommends that he be given precedence in the matter of his appointment as judge over other names recommended for appointment as judges.
GAY LAWYER SAURABH KIRPAL AS DELHI HC JUDGE
Rejecting the Union Government’s objections, the Supreme Court Collegium stood firm on its decision to appoint senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal, who is openly gay, as a judge of the Delhi High Court. The colloquium said that the fact that Kirpial “has been open about his orientation is a matter that goes to his credit.” The Collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI).D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph, reiterated the proposal, revealing that the objections against Kirpal were that his partner is a Swiss national and that Kirpal “is in an intimate relationship and is open about his sexual orientation.”
FOR ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
Prashant Kumar, Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi, Manish Kumar Nigam, Manjive Shukla, Anish Kumar Gupta, Nand Prabha Shukla, Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal, Kshitij Shailendra, and Vinod Diwakar were also approved as Allahabad High Court judges by the Collegium.
FOR KARNATAKA HIGH COURT
The Supreme Court Collegium approved the proposal for the elevation of the following advocates as judges in the Karnataka High Court: Vijaykumar Adagouda Patil, Rajesh Rai Kallangala, and Tajali Moulasab Nadaf.
MADRAS HIGH COURT TO GET MAXIMUM JUDGES
Advocates Venkatachari Lakshminarayanan and Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri, Pillaipakkam Bahukutumbi Balaji, Ramaswamy Neelakandan, and Kandhasami Kulandaivelu Ramakrishnan, and judicial officers Periyasamy Vadamalai, Ramachandran Kalaimathi, and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi are named in the Collegium proposal for elevation as judges in the Madras High Court.
