Changes in SC collegium after 2 judges retire

One-liner: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud-led five-judge collegium has undergone a change with the inclusion of Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant, after two senior judges demitted office during the summer break.

2 judges retire: Justices KM Joseph and Ajay Rastogi, who were part of the collegium, retired on June 16 and 17, respectively.

Revamped collegium: Besides the CJI, the revamped collegium now includes Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant.

• Interestingly, three members of the revamped collegium-Justices Khanna, Gavai and Surya Kant- will over time become the CJI

Faces task of filling vacancies: The reconstituted collegium faces the task of filling the vacancies in the SC which will be reduced to 31 against the sanctioned 34, with the retirement of Justice V Ramasubramanian today.

• In the first week of re-opening of the top court after the summer recess, the strength of judges will further come down to 30, with Justice Krishna Murari set to demit office on July 8

Background: The composition of the three-member collegium, which recommends names for appointment of judges in HCs, has also undergone a change with the inclusion of Justice Khanna in place of Justice Joseph. The panel headed by CJI Chandrachud also has Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul as its member.