The Supreme Court (SC) Collegium on Wednesday recommended the name of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya of the Allahabad High Court as the Chief Justice (CJ) of the Bombay High Court. The post of Bombay HC fell vacant after CJ RD Dhanuka retired on May 30, after being on the post for four days.
At present, Justice Nitin Jamdar is the acting Chief Justice of the Bombay high court.
Justice Upadhayay will be appointed as CJ of the Bombay HC after the central government approves the apex court’s recommendation.
Proposal to appoint Justice Upadhyaya passed in a resolution by SC CJs
The SC Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna proposed to appoint Justice Upadhyaya as CJ of Bombay HC in a resolution passed on July 6. He was appointed as judge of the Allahabad HC on November 21, 2011 and is the senior most judge at the Allahabad HC.
The resolution read: “He has been functioning there since his elevation and has acquired experience of more than 11 years in dispensing justice in the largest High Court in the country. On the appointment of Mr Justice Upadhyaya, the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad which is the largest High Court with a total judges strength of 160 would get adequate representation among the Chief Justices of High Courts.” “Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium is of the considered view that Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya is fit and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay,” the resolution added.
Who is Justice Upadhyaya?
Born on June 16, 1965, Justice Upadhyaya acquired a law degree from Lucknow University in 1991. He enrolled as an advocate on May 11, 1991 and practised on civil and constitutional sides at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC. He was elevated as its additional judge on November 21, 2011, and was made a permanent judge on August 6, 2013.
The Collegium has also recommended the elevation of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur of the Bombay HC as Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Justice Thakur was transferred to Bombay HC from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court in June 2022.
At present, the Bombay High Court functions with 66 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 94.
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