Supreme Court Collegium recommends 5 high court judges for elevation

The fresh list includes judges from Bihar, Rajasthan, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh.

The decision was made at a marathon meeting on Tuesday, shortly after Justice Dipankar Datta took the oath of office at the apex court.

With Justice Datta's appointment, the top court went up to a working strength of 28 judges, against a sanctioned strength of 34.

The recommendation comes in the backdrop of a larger issue of judges' appointment, in which the Centre wants a role.

The Supreme Court maintains that the Collegium system is the "law of the land" which should be "followed to the teeth".

Last month, the Centre did not approve the names of 19 judges recommended for elevation by the Collegium.

At a hearing on the issue last week, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S Oka, and Vikram Nath said it was unacceptable that the government will keep the Collegium's recommendations pending.

"A decision has to be taken within a reasonable time. Once a name is reiterated you (the government) are to appoint. You are sending names back twice over, thrice over. This means you will not appoint a person which is contrary to the judgment. Till the Collegium system is there, you have to enforce it," Justice Kaul had said.