The Central government on Thursday cleared the appointment of Andhra Pradesh HC Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior advocate KV Viswanathan as judges of the Supreme Court, PTI reported. They will be sworn-in as Supreme Court judges tomorrow.
New Union Law Minister Arjun Meghwal tweeted the news of their appointment late Thursday night.
Earlier this week, the collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, had recommended the two names to regain its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
The Supreme Court strength was reduced to 32 judges after Justice MR Shah and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari demitted office this month.
Advocate KV Viswanathan is in line to become the 58th Chief Justice of India in August 2030 for a period of over nine months. Viswanthan will become only the fourth lawyer who will go on to become the CJI after being directly elevated to the Supreme Court bench from the Bar.
The first CJI who was directly elevated to the apex court bench from the Bar was Justice SM Sikri. Justice UU Lalit was second in the list. Sitting judge Justice PS Narasimha will become the third CJI.
Viswanathan, born on May 16, 1966, will serve as judge of the Supreme Court until May 25, 2031.
On the other hand, Justice Mishra is currently the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. He assumed the post on October 13, 2021.
Previously, he served as Acting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court and Judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
While recommending his name, the Collegium noted that there was no representation of the Chhattisgarh High Court in the Supreme Court presently.
Four more vacancies are going to arise by the second week of July. Justice KM Joseph is set to retire on June 16, 2023, Justice Ajay Rastogi on June 17, Justice V Ramasubramanian on June 29 and Justice Krishna Murari on July 8 this year.