New Delhi: Following their recommendation by the Supreme Court Collegium, two distinguished chief justices from high courts have been appointed as judges of the Supreme Court. The newly appointed judges are S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti from the Kerala High Court and Ujjal Bhuyan from the Telangana High Court.
The Law Minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, took to Twitter to announce the appointments. The names of the judges were put forward for elevation to the Supreme Court by the Supreme Court Collegium on July 5. Currently, the Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the chief justice, but it is functioning with 30 judges.
Upon taking oath, the working strength of the apex court will increase to 32 judges, leaving two vacancies yet to be filled.
Justice Bhatti, born on May 6, 1962, was initially appointed as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on April 12. He is the senior-most judge in his parent high court. Transferred to the Kerala High Court in March 2019, he has been serving as the chief justice there since June 1.
“During his long tenure as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and as a judge and subsequently as Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala, Mr. Justice Bhatti has acquired considerable experience in various branches of law,” the Collegium had said.
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