The Supreme Court Collegium has brushed aside the reservations of the government over its decision to elevate Uttarakhand Chief Justice K M Joseph to the apex court as a judge and reiterated his name along with two other recommendations. The Collegium said "nothing adverse" regarding "suitability" of Justice Joseph has been pointed out in two letters of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

It also recommended the names of Chief Justice of Madras HC Indira Banerjee and Orissa HC Chief Justice Vineet Saran for appointment as SC judges. The five-member Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on January 10 had for the first time cleared the name of Justice Joseph, who was part of the bench, which in 2016 had quashed the imposition of President's rule by NDA government in the hill state, for the judge of the apex court.