NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the appointment of four judicial officers in the rank of district judges as judges of the Kerala High Court. The collegium comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai recommended justices KV Jayakumar, S Murali Krishna, Jobin Sebastian and PV Balakrishnan. The recommendation has been forwarded to the central government.

However, the Centre is yet to approve the appointment of P Krishnakumar, who was recommended by the collegium in October 2023. The collegium also suggested that seniority should be fixed below Krishnakumar for the four people recommended now. P Krishnakumar is currently the Registrar General of the High Court.

Three of them from same batch

S Murali Krishna, Jobin Sebastian and PV Balakrishnan joined the judicial service on the same day on March 10, 2014. Jobin Sebastian, a native of Alappuzha, has been the district judiciary registrar in the high court since April 2024. He also held the posts of Thiruvananthapuram Additional District Judge, Muvattupuzha Sessions Judge and Alappuzha Principal District and Sessions Judge. It was also considered that he belonged to a minority community.

Murali Krishna is the district and sessions judge in Kozhikode and PV Balakrishnan in Thiruvananthapuram. Jayakumar has been working as vigilance registrar of the High Court since January 2022. He was also an additional district and sessions judge in Thalassery.