The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it will within three days clear the names of 44 judges for the High Courts, recommended by the Collegium.
Attorney General R Venkataramani told the top court the government will adhere to timelines and the recent recommendations made by the Collegium of high courts have been processed with "utmost dispatch".
The Bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and AS Oka responded: "Centre submits that out of 104, 44 will be processed and sent within 3 days”.
The bench also asked Venkataramani about the five names recommended by the Collegium last month for elevation as judges of the apex court.
"Would your lordships defer this for a little while? I have some inputs given to me but I may have some difference of opinion on that," the Attorney General told the bench.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, raised the issue of the names reiterated by the Collegium being sent back by the government. "The Government in the last lot sent back some of the names which were pending. Rightly or wrongly, we have to deal with it. There are 22 names which have been sent back," the bench observed, adding, some reiterated names have also been returned.
The apex court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, had last month recommended five judges, including Justices Pankaj Mithal and Sanjay Karol, the chief justices of high courts of Rajasthan and Patna, for elevation as judges of the apex court.
"The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on December 13, 2022, has resolved to recommend elevation of the following chief justices/judges of the high courts, as judges in the Supreme Court: 1. Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice, Rajasthan High Court 2. Justice Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice, Patna High Court, 3. Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Chief Justice, Manipur High Court, 4.
Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Judge, Patna High Court and 5. Justice Manoj Misra, Judge, Allahabad High Court," said a statement uploaded last month on the apex court's website. The recommendation is pending with the Government.