The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, has proposed the appointment of seven Additional Judges as Permanent Judges in the Kerala High Court. The approved appointees are Shri Justice Abdul Hakhim Mullappally Abdul Aziz, Shri Justice Syam Kumar Vadakke Mudavakkat, Shri Justice Harisankar Vijayan Menon, Shri Justice Manu Sreedharan Nair, Shri Justice Easwaran Subramani, Shri Justice Manoj Pulamby Madhavan, and Smt. Justice Marakkaparambil Bhargavan Snehalatha.
The appointment of Chief Justices and Judges of High Courts is done by the President as per Article 217 of the Constitution. Detailed statistics, including case disposal rates, judgments, and other relevant data, are required to be submitted by the Chief Justice of the High Court when recommending an Additional Judge as a Permanent Judge.
According to the Constitution’s Article 224, Additional Judges are appointed by the President. The Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for High Court judges’ appointment specifies that a Chief Justice should not recommend an Additional Judge when a Permanent Judge vacancy exists.
