The Hyderabad High Court functioning in the jurisdiction of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has finally got a new Chief Justice, Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan, after a wait of nearly three years.
Justice Radhakrishnan was the CJ of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
While Justice Dilip B Bhosale functioned as the acting CJ from May 2015 to July 2016, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan had been working as the Acting CJ since then.
Once the decision of the Collegium is cleared by the Centre, President Kovind will notify the appointment.
Justice Ramesh Ranganathan is expected to continue as the second senior-most judge in the Hyderabad HC.
One of the important cases for the new CJ of the Hyderabad HC will be to check and approve the buildings identified for housing the Andhra Pradesh HC at Amaravati.
Last month, after protests rocked the Lok Sabha, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke in the House on the matter of bifurcating the Hyderabad High Court, which is presently overseeing cases from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Prasad said that Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has offered four buildings in Amaravati to temporarily host the state's High Court.
The bifurcation would take place according to the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Union Minister said.
Naidu has asked for suggestions by the end of January, so that modifications to the buildings can be made by April, and the court itself can begin functioning by June this year.
Meanwhile, among other recommendations of The Collegium, was that Acting Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya of the Calcutta HC and Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala HC, Justice Antony Dominic, be made the regular CJs in their respective courts.
Justice Anirudha Bose from the Calcutta HC was recommended for the post of the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, while Justice Abhilasha Kumar from the Gujarat HC has been recommended as the CJ of the Manipur High Court, DC reported.
In another development, senior Advocate Indu Malhotra became the first female Supreme Court lawyer to be recommended by the bar, for the post of a Supreme Court Judge.