Centre appoints Moksha Kazmi, Rahul Bharati as judges of HC

Srinagar: The President of India on Thursday appointed senior lawyers Rahul Bharati and Moksha Khajuria Kazmi as additional judges of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The Union Ministry of Law & Justice Thursday issued a notification for appointment of Rahul Bharati and Moksha Khajuria Kazmi as judges of the High Court. “In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Rahul Bharti, and Ms. Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, to be additional judges of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, for a period of two years, with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices,” reads the notification.
In March 2019, the J&K High Court collegium had initiated the process of appointment of Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, Rajnesh Oswal, Javed Iqbal Wani and Rahul Bharti as Judges of the High Court.
While Rajnesh Oswal and Javed Iqbal Wani were appointed as judges, Kazmi and Bharati’s names were sent back by the Government of India to SC collegium last year for reconsideration.
But the SC collegium in its meeting held later reiterated its recommendation for elevation of Rahul Bharti and Moksha Kazmi as Judges of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
“On reconsideration, the Supreme Court collegium has resolved to reiterate its earlier recommendation for elevation of Advocates Rahul Bharti and Moksha Kazmi (Khajuria) as Judges of the J&K and Ladakh High Court”, read the statement issued by the Supreme Court after the collegium meeting.
With these appointments, the number of judges in J&K’s top court has reached 15. The total sanctioned strength of judges in J&K HC is 17