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Justice Chelameswar seeks reiteration of Justice K.M. Joseph’s elevation to SC
New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) With just six working days left before Justice J.Chelameswar bids adieu to Supreme Court, he has shot a letter to Chief Justice Dipak Misra seeking reiteration of apex court collegium’s January 10 unanimous recommendation for elevating the Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K.M.Joseph to the top court.
Though Justice Chelameswar, who is a member of the collegium, is retiring on June 22 but the top court is left with six working days before it goes for six week summer break next weekend.
In a letter written on Wednesday, Justice Chelameswar has urged Chief Justice Misra that the reiteration of January 10 recommendation must be done at the earliest and file carrying reiteration be sent back to the government.
The reiteration of the recommendation for the elevation of Justice Joseph to the top court at the earliest would require the convening of the meeting of the collegium which had its last meeting on May 2.
At this meeting, the collegium had deferred decision on the government’s request to reconsider its recommendation for the elevation of Justice Joseph to top court. The meeting was inconclusive but no specific date was given for the next meeting of the collegium which was speculated to take place this week.
Friday is the last working day of the week.
Besides reconsidering its recommendation on elevating Justice Joseph to top court, the collegium was also to consider names of Judges from Calcutta, Rajasthan, and Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Courts for elevation as Judges of the Supreme Court.
Justice Kurian Joseph – also a member of collegium – had earlier said that the Central government should not have rejected the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium on the appointment of a judge as this has never happened before.
The top court collegium, recommending the elevation of Justice Joseph on January 10, had said: “The collegium considers that at present Justice K.M. Joseph, who hails from Kerala High Court and is currently functioning as Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, is more deserving and suitable in all respects than other Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of High Courts for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India.”
However, the Central government while returning his recommendation for reconsideration had said that Justice Joseph stood at number 42 in the seniority of High Court judges and there are 11 Chief Justices of different High Courts who are senior to him — a clear suggestion that his elevation to the Supreme Court would be at their expense.
The Centre had also raised the principle of proportionality contending that Kerala High Court was a “comparatively small High Court” with a sanctioned strength of 42 judges and was a parent High Court for the top court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, the Chief Justices of three High Courts — Justice K.M. Joseph himself (Uttarakhand), Justice T.B. Radhakrishnan (Chhattisgarh) and Justice Antony Dominic (Kerala).
The Central government had also flagged the absence of SC/ST judges in the top judiciary.
There is a perception that the government was standing in the way of the elevation of Justice Joseph because of his judgment against imposition of President’s rule in Uttarakhand, but Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has denied this.
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.