SC gets 2 new judges, now 2 short of full strength

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Friday administered the oath of office to Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti as judges of the Supreme Court.

With the swearing-in of Justices Bhuyan and Bhatti, the working strength of judges in the apex court has risen to 32 against the sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI.

The CJI administered the oath of office to the two new judges in a swearing-in ceremony held at the apex court's auditorium in New Delhi.

The central government had cleared the names of Justice Bhuyan, who was the chief justice of the Telangana High Court, and Justice Bhatti, his counterpart in Kerala, for elevation as judges of the top court on July 12.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had announced the elevation of the two judges on Wednesday.

The apex court collegium headed by the CJI had on July 5 recommended their appointment as judges of the apex court.

Born on August 2, 1964, Justice Bhuyan was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011 and was the senior-most judge of his parent High Court (Gauhati).

He was serving as the chief justice of the Telangana High Court since June 28, 2022.

"During his long tenure as a judge of the High Court Mr Justice Bhuyan has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. He has acquired specialisation and domain knowledge in the law of taxation. He has also served as a judge of the Bombay High Court dealing with a wide spectrum of cases including taxation.

"His judgments cover wide ranging issues pertaining to law and justice. Mr. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan is a judge with a good reputation for integrity and competence," the collegium resolution uploaded on the apex court website had said.

Justice Bhatti, who was born on May 6, 1962, was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on April 12, 2013 and was the senior-most in his parent high court.

The collegium resolution had noted that the High Court of Andhra Pradesh does not have any representation on the bench of the Supreme Court since August 2022.

Justice Bhatti was transferred to the High Court of Kerala in March 2019 and was serving as the chief justice there since June 1, 2023.

"During his long tenure as a judge of the High Court of Andhra High 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 judgments authored by him dealing with issues in various branches of law stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence. Apart from according representation to the State of Andhra Pradesh, the appointment of Mr Justice Bhatti will provide a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience. He commands a good reputation and possesses integrity and competence," the collegium resolution had said.