Speedy clearance of names of three new judges by Union government restores Supreme Court to full strength

The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Satish Chandra Sharma, the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court Augustine George Masih and the Chief Justice of the Assam High Court Sandeep Mehta are likely to be sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court this evening by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud.

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WITH the Union government clearing the appointment of three new judges to the Supreme Court, the court will be functioning at its full strength until it breaks for winter vacations.

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul will be leaving office on December 25.

The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Satish Chandra Sharma, the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court Augustine George Masih and the Chief Justice of the Assam High Court Sandeep Mehta are likely to be sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court this evening by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud.

A five-judge collegium comprising the CJI and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant had recommended these three names for elevation to the Supreme Court on November 7. The government has cleared the names with the speed of light.

CJI Chandrachud-led collegium has recommended a total of 14 judges to the Supreme Court in the last one year.

Justice Sharma was appointed as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 18, 2008. He was elevated as the Chief Justice of the high court for Telangana on October 11, 2021, and thereafter transferred to the Delhi High Court on June 28, 2022.

Justice Sharma is the second-most senior judge in the combined all-India seniority list of high court judges. He is also the senior-most judge hailing from the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

While recommending his name, the collegium said that it is aware of the fact that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by one judge from the Madhya Pradesh High Court. If appointed as judge of the Supreme Court, he would retire on November 29, 2026.

Justice Masih was appointed as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 10, 2008. He was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court on May 30, 2023.

Justice Masih stands at serial no. 7 in the combined all-India seniority of high court judges. He is the senior-most judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He belongs to a minority community.

While recommending his name, the collegium was conscious of the fact that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by two judges from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. If appointed as judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Masih would retire on March 11, 2028.

Justice Mehta was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court on May 30, 2011. 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.

Justice Mehta stands at serial no. 23 in the combined all-India seniority of high court judges. He is the senior-most judge of the Rajasthan High Court. If appointed as judge of the Supreme Court, he would retire on January 10, 2028.

CJI Chandrachud has time and again spoken on promoting diversity on the Bench of the Supreme Court.

For example, speaking at a ceremony to felicitate Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and S.V. Bhatti upon their elevation to the Bench, CJI Chandrachud had said that the "one of the main missions" of the collegium was "to ensure diversity and make the top-court a people-centric court".

Yet, since his elevation on November 11, 2022, not a single woman has been elevated to the Supreme Court Bench.

The representation of religious minorities has remained unchanged with the retirement of Justice S. Abdul Nazeer and Justice K.M. Joseph and the appointment of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Augustine George Masih.

The Supreme Court has had no Sikh judge since 2017, when the then CJI J.S. Khehar retired.

Even after the latest appointments, there are only a few representations of marginalised castes on the Supreme Court Bench.   

Most of the 14 appointments to the Supreme Court Bench during the tenure of CJI Chandrachud have been like-for-like replacements of dominant-caste Hindu men.