United States President Barack Obama has reportedly shortlisted Indian-American Judge Sri Srinivasan as a nominee for the position of US Supreme Court justice. The other two in the shortlist of three include Merrick Garland and Paul Watford.
Both Garland and Srinivasan are judges at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and said to be the "leading contenders" for the appointment of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) justice, Reuters cited its sources as saying.
The president is likely to make a formal announcement about the selection of the nominees March 14.
The US government is in the process of appointing the new Supreme Court justice after the sudden death of serving Justice Antonin Scalia Feb. 13. The 79-year-old conservative judge was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
Obama had said that he wanted to appoint Scalia's successor before his presidency ends in January 2017. "I plan to fulfil my constitutional responsibility to appoint a successor in due time and there will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to give that person a fair hearing and timely vote," he said.
However, Senate Republicans have decided not to consider any nomination by Obama, as they want the next president to appoint the new judge , hoping that the Republican Party will win the upcoming presidential elections.
The 49-year-old American judge was born in Chandigarh, India, and migrated to Lawrence, Kansas, with his family in late 1960s. He served as a law clerk with United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III and later as a clerk for US Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Srinivasan was appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in May 2013. He has also served as Obama's principal deputy solicitor general.
