The Supreme Court collegium is learnt to have recommended extension of service of three additional judges of the Gauhati High Court.
Sources in the know said the term of the three additional judges is coming to an end on November 21 and an extension of three months has been sought.
Additional judges are appointed for a period of two years following which most of them are elevated as permanent judges. But in certain cases they are given an extension ranging from three to six months.
This is the second set of recommendations made by the collegium to extend the terms of additional judges following its comeback last month after a gap of six months.
There was no system in place between April 13 and October 16 on appointments to the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts. The National Judicial Appointments Commission Act was notified on April 13, but it was declared as unconstitutional by the apex court on October 16.
While the NJAC Act had scrapped the collegium system, the NJAC itself had failed to function as Chief Justice of India Justice H L Dattu had refused to be a part of it.
To overcome shortage of judges when the NJAC case was being heard by a Supreme Court bench, government had sought permission of the apex court to give extension to additional judges in various high courts whose tenure of two years was coming to an end as an interim measure.
Now with the collegium settling down again, it may meet in the coming days to decide on whether these additional judges should be elevated as permanent judges.
