Now that the collegium’s recommendation for the two new appointments to the Bench is affirmed by the President, the secretary to the government of India in the department of justice will announce the appointment and issue the necessary notification in the gazette of India.
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ON Wednesday, July 12, 2023, the President of India signed off the warrants of appointment of the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti as judges of the Supreme Court of India.
The Supreme Court Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant had recommended the names of the duo for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court on July 5, 2023.
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— The Leaflet (@TheLeaflet_in) July 12, 2023
Justices Bhuyan and Bhatti are likely to be sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court on Friday morning by the CJI. With the two new appointments, the working strength of the Supreme Court will increase from the existing 30 to 32 judges, leaving two vacancies.
The CJI has sworn in ten judges to the Supreme Court since the beginning of his tenure as CJI. The appointment of Justices Bhuyan and Bhatti will raise the number to 12.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011. He is the senior-most judge of his parent high court and has been serving as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court since June 28, 2022.
The collegium recommendation had noted: “During his long tenure as a judge of the high court, Justice Bhuyan has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. He has acquired specialisation and domain knowledge in the law of taxation.”
Justice Bhuyan, the collegium resolution states, also served as a judge of the Bombay High Court, dealing with a wide spectrum of cases including those related to taxation, adding that he is a judge with a good reputation for integrity and competence.
Justice Bhatti was appointed as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on April 12, 2013, and is the senior-most judge in the high court.
One of the prime reasons for the collegium to recommend his name was that the Andhra Pradesh High Court did not have any representation on the Bench of the Supreme Court since August 2022, when Justice N.V. Ramana retired.
Justice Bhatti was transferred to the Kerala High Court in March 2019 and has been serving as Chief Justice of the high court since June 1, 2023.
