For the first time in nearly three decades since its establishment, the Supreme Court collegium convened outside Delhi to assess candidates recommended for judgeship by the Collegium of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts. The unprecedented meeting, held last weekend in Visakhapatnam, focused on evaluating the candidates’ personality, suitability, and competence for constitutional court judgeship.

The collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice Surya Kant, undertook this initiative to streamline the judge selection process. Since the creation of the collegium system in the 1990s by landmark Supreme Court judgments, this marked the first instance of such a process being conducted beyond the national capital.

With the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts recommending multiple candidates for High Court judgeships, the collegium opted to meet the candidates in Visakhapatnam. This approach was designed to save the candidates time and travel expenses, avoiding the need for them to journey to Delhi. The interaction involved three candidates from Andhra Pradesh and five from Telangana and took place at the hotel where the Supreme Court judges were staying.

Source-News