The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar is said to have recommended nine names to the government for appointment as regular High Court chief justices. If cleared by the government, this could be the highest number of appointments of chief justices made at once. Further, four of these names are slotted for the vacancies likely to be created in high courts after their chief justices are elevated to the top court as judges following the recommendation made separately by the collegium to the government last week. The list includes the following names: Justice Hemant Gupta for Madhya Pradesh High Court; Justice Abhilasha Kumari for Tripura High Court; Justice B D Ahmed for Jammu and Kashmir High Court; Justice Pradeep Nandarajog for Rajasthan High Court; Justice Rajendra Menon for Patna High Court; Justice T Vaiphei for Hyderabad High Court; Justice H G Ramesh for Madras High Court; Justice T B Radhakrishnan for Chhattisgarh High Court and Justice P K Mohanty for Jharkhand High Court. The recommendations signify a major move forward amid a long-drawn battle between the judiciary and the government over the authority to appoint judges.