Supreme Court Collegium recommends 4 judicial officers as Kerala High Court judges

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of four judicial officers for appointment as additional judges of the Kerala High Court.

As per the Collegium resolution dated October 15, 2024, the judicial officers are:

• KV Jayakumar

• Muralee Krishna S

• Jobin Sebastian

• PV Balakrishnan

The names of these officers were recommended for elevation on May 30, 2024, by the High Court Collegium. The Chief Minister and the Governor of Kerala concurred with the proposal.

Following this, the member-judges of the Collegium went through the material placed on record, including observations of the Department of Justice, and made their own enquiries about the merit and suitability of the candidates.

K V Jayakumar

Jayakumar joined the judicial service on December 1, 2012, and has been serving as Registrar (Vigilance) in the High Court since January 12, 2022. While two out of three consultee judges found him suitable, the third judge neither offered any comments nor any negative information about him.

Muralee Krishna S

Two out of three consultee Judges found him suitable for appointment as a High Court Judge, while the third offered no comments nor did he note any negative information. Muralee Krishna S joined the judicial service on March 10, 2014, and has served in various capacities across the State. He is currently serving as the Principal District & Sessions Judge, Kozhikode.

Jobin Sebastian

Jobin Sebastian joined the judicial service on March 10, 2014, and has been serving as Registrar (District Judiciary) in the High Court since April 4, 2024. Two out of three consultee judges found him suitable for appointment as a High Court judge, with no negative information provided by the third.

PV Balakrishnan

PV Balakrishnan joined the judicial service on March 10, 2014, and is currently serving as the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Thiruvananthapuram. Two out of three consultee judges found him suitable for appointment as a High Court judge, with the third providing no comments or any negative information.

As on October 15, the Kerala High Court is functioning with 40 judges as against a sanctioned strength of 47.

The resolution also noted that in October last year, it had recommended five judicial officers for elevation to the High Court. While four of these officers are now High Court judges, one P Krishna Kumar is yet to be elevated. While reiterating the recommendation to appoint Kumar, the Collegium stated,

"However, nothing has been intimated by the Government to the Collegium with regard to the status of Shri P Krishna Kumar. The Collegium, therefore, resolves that the four Judicial Officers whose names are recommended above shall rank, in the appointment order, below Shri P Krishna Kumar and their inter se seniority shall be fixed in that order."

[Read Resolution]