New Delhi: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday announced that President Droupadi Murmu appointed Chief Justices of Gujarat and Allahabad High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court. With this, the top court now has full bench strength of 34 judges. Rajesh Bindal, the Chief Justice of Allahabad HC, and Aravind Kumar, the Chief Justice of Gujarat HC, have been appointed to the apex court.
The Supreme Court Collegium recommended their elevation as top court judges on January 31. While recommending their names, the SC Collegium had said the names recommended by it on 13 December 2022 "shall have precedence over the two names recommended presently for appointment to the Supreme Court".
Earlier this week, five new judges took oath as Supreme Court judges in New Delhi. CJI Chandrachud administered the oath of office to new Judges during an event at the newly-built auditorium of the additional building complex of the Supreme Court.
Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Manoj Misra are the five Supreme Court judges who took oath on Monday.
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Pankaj Mithal, P V Sanjay Kumar, and Manoj Misra were the chief justices of the high courts of Rajasthan, Manipur, and Allahabad respectively, while Sanjay Karol and Ahsanuddin Amanullah were both chief justice of Patna HC. All five judges were recommended on December 13, 2022.
Out of the 27 current apex court judges, eight are set to demit office this year.
The sanctioned strength of the apex court is 34, including the Chief Justice of India.