Centre turns its back on elevation of Justice Joseph to Supreme Court

New Delhi: Planned elevation of Justice K M Joseph to the Supreme Court has widened the rift between the judiciary and the executive as the Narendra Modi-led NDA government on Thursday returned the apex court collegium its recommendation to elevate the Uttarakhand Chief Justice.
The government has, however, cleared the appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge of the Supreme Court. Earlier this year, the collegium had recommended both the names for the Supreme Court.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar wrote to Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra requesting the collegium, a group of five senior-most judges that selects judges for the highest court of the country to reconsider its decision on recommending Justice Joseph to be a judge of the top court.
Justice Joseph had cancelled President’s rule in Uttarakhand in a ruling in 2016 and brought back Harish Rawat-led Congress government to power. The judgment was seen as a major set back to NDA government at the Centre.