01/09/2021
9 Judges appointed to the Supreme Court of India
Nine new judges were appointed as Supreme Court judges on August 31st. Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana administered the oath of office to all new nine judges- Justice AS Oka, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice JK Maheshwari, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice CT Ravikumar, Justice MM Sundresh, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice PS Narsimha.
This is the first time in history of the Supreme Court that nine judges have taken the oath of office in one go. The swearing-in ceremony would be held in the auditorium of the Supreme Court's additional building complex due to the corona virus pandemic. Traditionally, new judges take the oath of office in the CJI's courtroom. Due to these appointments the strength of judges in the Supreme Court will increase from 24 to 33 leaving just one vacancy. Out of the nine new judges 3 are women, the Supreme Court has seen very few women judges since its inception. In the last 71 years the court has appointed only 8 women judges.
Here are the nine new judges of the Supreme Court:
1. Justice Vikram Nath: Justice Nath, who was the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court, is in line to become the CJI upon the retirement of sitting top court judge Justice Surya Kant in February 2027.
2. Justice BV Nagarathna: Justice Nagarathna was a judge of the Karnataka High Court. Justice Nagarathna is in line to become the first woman CJI in September 2027.
3. Justice PS Narasimha: Justice Narasimha was a senior advocate and former additional solicitor general.
4. Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka: Justice Oka was the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court)
5. Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari: Justice Maheshwari was the chief justice of the Sikkim High Court.
6. Justice Hima Kohli: Justice Kohli was the chief justice of the Telangana High Court.
7. Justice CT Ravikumar: Justice Ravikumar was a judge of the Kerala High Court.
8. Justice MM Sundresh: Justice Sundresh was a judge of the Madras High Court.
9. Justice Bela M Trivedi: Justice Trivedi was a judge of the Gujarat High Court.
Credits: Chinmay Pawar
