Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Sanjiv Khanna elevated to Supreme Court by President Ram Nath Kovind

On January 11, the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended the names of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, and Justice Sanjiv Khanna of Delhi High Court for elevation as judges of the apex court.

The five member Collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took the decision in its meeting held on January 10 to recommend the names of Justices Maheshwari and Khanna for their appointment to the Supreme Court./ AFP IMAGE

New Delhi: Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Delhi High Court judge Sanjiv Khanna were elevated as judges of the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The recommendation by the Supreme Court Collegium was signed off by President Ram Nath Kovind. The apex court, which has a sanctioned strength of 31 judges, was functioning with 26 judges. On January 11, the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended the names of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, and Justice Sanjiv Khanna of Delhi High Court for elevation as judges of the apex court. The five member Collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took the decision in its meeting held on January 10 to recommend the names of Justices Maheshwari and Khanna for their appointment to the Supreme Court.The decision of the Collegium also comprising Justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde, N.V.Ramana and Arun Mishra was made public on the apex court's website. On the elevation, the Bar Council of India (BCI) had protested Supreme Court collegium's recommendation to elevate by superseding several other judges. They termed the decision as "whimsical and arbitrary". It was said that wrong signal would go out if the two Chief Justices, who are up in the seniority list than Justice Khanna, would be left out for elevation as apex court judges.

Five things to know about Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

• Justice Maheshwari was appointed a judge of the Rajasthan High Court on September 2, 2004
• He was transferred to Allahabad High Court on July 19, 2014.
• He was elevated as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court on February 24, 2016
• Thereafter transferred to Karnataka High Court on February 12, 2018. He has been functioning there since then.
• Justice Maheshwari stands at Sl. No. 21 in the combined seniority of high court judges on all-India basis.

Know who is Justice Sanjiv Khanna 

• Justice Khanna was appointed a judge of the Delhi High Court on June 24, 2005.
• Since then, he has been functioning in Delhi.
• He stands at Sl.No. 33 in the combined seniority of high court judges on all-India basis.
• As per reports, Justice Khanna is expected to become chief justice of India after Justice D Y Chandrachud in 2024.