Three New Judges Take Oath, Apex Court at Full Sanctioned Strength Of 34 Judges
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Three new judges were sworn in as Judges of Apex Court on Thursday.
Justices Satish Chandra Sharma, Augustine George Masih, and Sandeep Mehta took oath as Judges of the Apex Court.
CJI D Y Chandrachud administered the oath to them at a ceremony held in the Additional complex of the Supreme Court today at 4:15 PM.
Earlier this month the 5 -member Supreme Court collegium led by the CJI had recommended the elevation of theses judges.
The Supreme Court Collegium had stated in its resolution that it considered a variety of factors including their seniority, merit, performance, diversity in terms of parent high courts, social background, etc.
The Supreme Court of India has a sanctioned strength of thirty-four Judges and is presently functioning with thirty-one Judges. The Supreme Court has a huge backlog of cases. In view of the ever-mounting pendency of cases, the workload of judges has increased considerably. Bearing in mind the above, it has become necessary to ensure that the Court has full working judge-strength leaving no vacancy at any point of time. Bearing in mind the above, the Collegium has decided to fill up all the three existing vacancies by recommending names.
The Collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court. Judgments authored by those falling in the zone of consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court were circulated among the members of the Collegium, well in advance, for a meaningful discussion on and assessment of their judicial acumen. The Centre for Research & Planning of the Supreme Court has prepared a compilation of relevant background material to assist the Collegium.
Mr. Justice Satish Chandra Sharma was appointed as a Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 18 January 2008. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana on 11 October 2021 and thereafter transferred to High Court of Delhi on 28 June 2022. Mr Justice Satish Chandra Sharma has served as a judge of the High Court for more than 15 years and as Chief Justice of High Court for more than 2 years.
The judgments authored by him dealing with issues in various branches of law stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence. Before his elevation as a Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, he practised in constitutional, service, civil and criminal matters. Mr. Justice Sharma stands at Sl. No. 2 in the combined all India seniority of High Court Judges. In the seniority of Judges hailing from Madhya Pradesh High Court, Mr. Justice Sharma stands at Sl. No. 1. While recommending his name, the Collegium is aware of the fact that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by 1 Judge from the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Mr Justice Sandeep Mehta was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court on 30 May 2011.
Having attained seniority in his parent High Court he was elevated as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and is serving there since 15 February 2023.
The Rajasthan High Court which is his parent High Court is a large High Court which does not have representation on the Bench of the Supreme Court. Mr Justice Mehta has served as a judge of the High Court for more than 12 years. During his long tenure as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court and as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, Mr Justice Mehta has acquired significant adjudicatory experience. Before his elevation, he practised before trial courts, High Court and the Supreme Court, mainly in constitutional and criminal laws.
The judgments authored by him dealing with issues in various branches of law stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence. Mr. Justice Mehta stands at Sl. No. 23 in the combined all India seniority of High Court Judges. In the seniority of Judges hailing from the High Court of Rajasthan, he stands at Sl. No.1. Apart from according representation to the State of Rajasthan, the appointment of Mr Justice Mehta will provide a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience.
Mr. Justice A G Masih was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 10 July 2008.
He was elevated as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court on 30 May 2023. During his long tenure as a judge of the High Court Mr Justice Masih has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law.
Before his elevation, he practiced in Constitutional, service, labor, and civil matters. Mr. Justice Masih stands at Sl. No. 7 in the combined all India seniority of High Court Judges. In the seniority of Judges hailing from the High Court of Punjab & Haryana, he stands at Sl. No.1. He belongs to a minority community. While recommending his name, the Collegium is aware of the fact that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by 2 Judges from the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
