[dropcap]P[/dropcap]resident of India Ram Nath Kovind has today, November 1, 2018, signed off the warrant of appointments of Justices Hemant Gupta, R Subhash Reddy, M R Shah and Ajay Rastogi as judges of the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court Collegium comprising of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, Justices Madan B Lokur, Kurian Joseph, A K Sikri, S A Bobde, had unanimously recommended their names on October 30, 2018. Acting on the recommendations of the Collegium, the central government processed the file of their appointments with promptness and notified their appointments in less than 48 hours.
Justice Hemant Gupta
Justice Hemant Gupta was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 02, 2002 and was transferred to Patna High Court on February 08, 2016. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court on March 18, 2017 and has been functioning there since then.
He will have tenure as a judge of the Supreme Court till October 16, 2022.
Justice R Subhash Reddy
Mr. Justice R. Subhash Reddy was appointed as a Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on December 02, 2002. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court on December 13, 2016 and has been functioning there since then.
He will have tenure as a judge of the Supreme Court till January 04, 2022.
Justice M R Shah
Justice Mukeshkumar Rasikbhai Shah was appointed as a Judge of the Gujarat High Court on March 07, 2004. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Patna High Court on August 12, 2018 and has been functioning there since then.
He will have tenure as a judge of the Supreme Court till January o4, 2023.
Justice Ajay Rastogi
Mr. Justice Ajay Rastogi was appointed as a Judge of the Rajasthan High Court on 2nd September, 2004. He was elevated as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court on 1st March, 2018 and has been functioning there since then.
He will have tenure as a judge of the Supreme Court till June 17, 2023.
With the elevations of the above four justices to the Supreme Court, the working strength of the Supreme Court has been raised to 28 against the sanctioned strength of 31 judges, including the CJI. It may be noted that two vacancies will open up on November 29 and December 30, 2018 with the retirement of Justices Kurian Joseph and Madan B Lokur respectively.
None of the newly appointed judges to the Supreme Court would become the Chief Justice of India, since they will retire much before the tenure of Justice D Y Chandrachud who will retire as the Chief Justice of India on November 10, 2024.