Apex court at full strength as 3 HC CJs take oath as SC judges

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday administered oath of office to three high court chief justices Satish Chandra Sharma, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta as judges of the Supreme Court. With the swearing-in of the three judges, the top court will now function with its full strength of 34 judges. Earlier in the day, Sharma, the Delhi high court chief justice, and Masih and Mehta, his counterparts in the Rajasthan and Gauhati high courts, respectively, were appointed as top court judges.

Later the government notified appointment of acting chief justices of the high courts of Gauhati, Rajasthan and Delhi from where the chief justices were elevated to the apex court. Justice L Jamir, a judge of the Gauhati high court, has been appointed acting chief justice of that HC; Justice MM Shrivastava of Rajasthan high court will take charge as the chief justice of Rajasthan HC, and Justice Manmohan, a judge of Delhi high court, will take charge as the acting chief justice of Delhi HC.

Advocate N Unni Krishnan Nair has been appointed as additional judge of the Gauhati HC for a two-year period.

The law ministry notified appointment of the three judges for the apex court in a record time, within a few days of the SC collegium recommending names of the chief justices of Delhi, Rajasthan and Gauhati for elevation.