Latest revision as of 04:34, 24 July 2024

[edit] The sitting judges

[edit] As in 2019, March

Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi

The Chief Justice Of India

(DoB.) 18-11-1954

Term of Office: (DoA) 23-04-2012 to (DoR) 17-11-2019

Appointed as The Chief Justice of India on 03-10-2018

Hon'ble Judges

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde (DoB.) 24-04-1956

Term of Office: (DoA) 12-04-2013 to (DoR) 23-04-2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice N.V. Ramana (DoB.) 27-08-1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2014 to (DoR) 26-08-2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Arun Mishra (DoB.) 03-09-1955

Term of Office: (DoA) 07-07-2014 to (DoR) 02-09-2020

Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.F. Nariman (DoB.) 13-08-1956

Term of Office: (DoA) 07-07-2014 to (DoR) 12-08-2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre (DoB.) 28-08-1954

Term of Office: (DoA) 13-08-2014 to (DoR) 27-08-2019

Hon'ble Mrs. Justice R. Banumathi (DoB.) 20-07-1955

Term of Office: (DoA) 13-08-2014 to (DoR) 19-07-2020

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit (DoB.) 09-11-1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 13-08-2014 to (DoR) 08-11-2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.M. Khanwilkar (DoB.) 30-07-1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 13-05-2016 to (DoR) 29-07-2022

Hon'ble Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud (DoB.) 11-11-1959

Term of Office: (DoA) 13-05-2016 to (DoR) 10-11-2024

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ashok Bhushan (DoB.) 05-07-1956

Term of Office: (DoA) 13-05-2016 to (DoR) 04-07-2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice L. Nageswara Rao (DoB.) 08-06-1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 13-05-2016 to (DoR) 07-06-2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (DoB.) 26-12-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 25-12-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar (DoB.) 05-05-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 04-05-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice S. Abdul Nazeer (DoB.) 05-01-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 04-01-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Navin Sinha (DoB.) 19-08-1956

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 18-08-2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta (DoB.) 07-05-1955

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 06-05-2020

Hon'ble Ms. Justice Indu Malhotra (DoB.) 14-03-1956

Term of Office: (DoA) 27-04-2018 to (DoR) 13-03-2021

Hon'ble Ms. Justice Indira Banerjee (DoB.) 24-09-1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 07-08-2018 to (DoR) 23-09-2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Vineet Saran (DoB.) 11-05-1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 07-08-2018 to (DoR) 10-05-2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.M. Joseph (DoB.) 17-06-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 07-08-2018 to (DoR) 16-06-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Hemant Gupta (DoB.) 17-10-1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 02-11-2018 to (DoR) 16-10-2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.Subhash Reddy

Term of Office: (DoA) 02-11-2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Mukeshkumar Rasikbhai Shah (DoB.) 16-05-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 02-11-2018 to (DoR) 15-05-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ajay Rastogi (DoB.) 18-06-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 02-11-2018 to (DoR) 17-06-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dinesh Maheshwari (DoB.) 15-05-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 18-01-2019 to (DoR) 14-05-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjiv Khanna (DoB.) 14-05-1960

Term of Office: (DoA) 18-01-2019 to (DoR) 13-05-2025

[edit] As in 2018, August

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra (DoB.03.10.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 10.10.2011 to (DoR) 02.10.2018

Appointed as The Chief Justice of India on 28.08.2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi (DoB.18.11.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 23.04.2012 to (DoR) 17.11.2019

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur (DoB.31.12.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 04.06.2012 to (DoR) 30.12.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Kurian Joseph (DoB.30.11.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 08.03.2013 to (DoR) 29.11.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri (DoB.07.03.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 12.04.2013 to (DoR) 06.03.2019

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde (DoB.24.04.1956)

Term of Office: (DoA) 12.04.2013 to (DoR) 23.04.2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice N.V. Ramana (DoB. 27.08.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 17.02.2014 to (DoR) 26.08.2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Arun Mishra (DoB. 03.09.1955)

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.07.2014 to (DoR) 02.09.2020

Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.F. Nariman (DoB. 13.08.1956)

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.07.2014 to (DoR) 12.08.2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre (DoB. 28.08.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.08.2014 to (DoR) 27.08.2019

Hon'ble Mrs. Justice R. Banumathi (DoB. 20.07.1955)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.08.2014 (F.N.) to (DoR) 19.07.2020

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit (DoB. 09.11.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.08.2014 to (DoR) 08.11.2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.M. Khanwilkar(DoB.30.07.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 29.07.2022

Hon'ble Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud (DoB. 11.11.1959)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 10.11.2024

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ashok Bhushan (DoB. 05.07.1956)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 04.07.2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice L. Nageswara Rao (DoB. 08.06.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 07.06.2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (DoB.) 26-12-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 26-12-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar (DoB.) 05-05-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 04-05-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice S. Abdul Nazeer (DoB.) 05-01-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 04-01-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Navin Sinha (DoB.) 19-08-1956

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 18-08-2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta (DoB) 07.05.1955

Term of Office : (DoA) 17.02.2017 to (DoR) 06.05.2020

Hon'ble Indu Malhotra: cleared as SC judge by collegium in Jan 2018.

Hon'ble Indira Banerjee (DoB) 24.09.1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.08.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Vineet Saran (DoB) 11.05.1957

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.08.2018

Hon'ble Mr. KM Joseph (DoB) 17.06.1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.08.2018

[edit] As in 2018, January

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra (DoB.03.10.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 10.10.2011 to (DoR) 02.10.2018

Appointed as The Chief Justice of India on 28.08.2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jasti Chelameswar (DoB.23.06.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 10.10.2011 to (DoR) 22.06.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi (DoB.18.11.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 23.04.2012 to (DoR) 17.11.2019

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur (DoB.31.12.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 04.06.2012 to (DoR) 30.12.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Kurian Joseph (DoB.30.11.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 08.03.2013 to (DoR) 29.11.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri (DoB.07.03.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 12.04.2013 to (DoR) 06.03.2019

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde (DoB.24.04.1956)

Term of Office: (DoA) 12.04.2013 to (DoR) 23.04.2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.K. Agrawal (DoB. 05.05.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 17.02.2014 to (DoR) 04.05.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice N.V. Ramana (DoB. 27.08.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 17.02.2014 to (DoR) 26.08.2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Arun Mishra (DoB. 03.09.1955)

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.07.2014 to (DoR) 02.09.2020

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel (DoB. 07.07.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.07.2014 to (DoR) 06.07.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.F. Nariman (DoB. 13.08.1956)

Term of Office: (DoA) 07.07.2014 to (DoR) 12.08.2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre (DoB. 28.08.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.08.2014 to (DoR) 27.08.2019

Hon'ble Mrs. Justice R. Banumathi (DoB. 20.07.1955)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.08.2014 (F.N.) to (DoR) 19.07.2020

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit (DoB. 09.11.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.08.2014 to (DoR) 08.11.2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Amitava Roy (DoB.01.03.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 27.02.2015 to (DoR) 01.03.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.M. Khanwilkar(DoB.30.07.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 29.07.2022

Hon'ble Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud (DoB. 11.11.1959)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 10.11.2024

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ashok Bhushan (DoB. 05.07.1956)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 04.07.2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice L. Nageswara Rao (DoB. 08.06.1957)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.05.2016 to (DoR) 07.06.2022

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (DoB.) 26-12-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 26-12-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar (DoB.) 05-05-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 04-05-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice S. Abdul Nazeer (DoB.) 05-01-1958

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 04-01-2023

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Navin Sinha (DoB.) 19-08-1956

Term of Office: (DoA) 17-02-2017 to (DoR) 18-08-2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta (DoB) 07.05.1955

Term of Office : (DoA) 17.02.2017 to (DoR) 06.05.2020

Hon'ble Indu Malhotra: cleared as SC judge by collegium in Jan 2018.

[edit] 2024, July

Dr Justice D Y Chandrachud: Chief Justice of India (DoB.) : 11-11-1959 Term of Office : (DoA) 13-05-2016 to (DoR) 10-11-2024

Justice Sanjiv Khanna (DoB.) : 14-05-1960

Term of Office : (DoA) 18-01-2019 to (DoR) 13-05-2025

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai (DoB.) : 24-11-1960

Term of Office : (DoA) 24-05-2019 to (DoR) 23-11-2025

Justice Surya Kant (DoB.) : 10-02-1962

Term of Office : (DoA) 24-05-2019 to (DoR) 09-02-2027

Justice Hrishikesh Roy (DoB.) : 01-02-1960

Term of Office : (DoA) 23-09-2019 to (DoR) 31-01-2025

Justice Abhay.S. Oka (DoB.) : 25-05-1960

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 24-05-2025

Justice Vikram Nath (DoB.) : 24-09-1962

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 23-09-2027

Justice J.K. Maheshwari (DoB.) : 29-06-1961

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 28-06-2026

Justice Hima Kohli (DoB.) : 02-09-1959

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 01-09-2024

Justice B.V. Nagarathna (DoB.) : 30-10-1962

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 29-10-2027

Justice C.T. Ravikumar (DoB.) : 06-01-1960

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 05-01-2025

Justice M.M. Sundresh (DoB.) : 21-07-1962

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 20-07-2027

Justice Bela M. Trivedi (DoB.) : 10-06-1960

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 09-06-2025

Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

(DoB.) : 03-05-1963

Term of Office : (DoA) 31-08-2021 to (DoR) 02-05-2028

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia (DoB.) : 10-08-1960

Term of Office : (DoA) 09-05-2022 to (DoR) 09-08-2025

Justice J.B. Pardiwala (DoB.) : 12-08-1965

Term of Office : (DoA) 09-05-2022 to (DoR) 11-08-2030

Justice Dipankar Datta

(DoB.) : 09-02-1965

Term of Office : (DoA) 12-12-2022 to (DoR) 08-02-2030

Justice Pankaj Mithal (DoB.) : 17-06-1961

Term of Office : (DoA) 06-02-2023 to (DoR) 16-06-2026

Justice Sanjay Karol (DoB.) : 23-08-1961

Term of Office : (DoA) 06-02-2023 to (DoR) 22-08-2026

Justice Sanjay Kumar (DoB.) : 14-08-1963

Term of Office : (DoA) 06-02-2023 to (DoR) 13-08-2028

Justice Manoj Misra (DoB.) : 02-06-1965

Term of Office : (DoA) 06-02-2023 to (DoR) 01-06-2030

Justice Rajesh Bindal (DoB.) : 16-04-1961

Term of Office : (DoA) 13-02-2023 to (DoR) 15-04-2026

Justice Aravind Kumar (DoB.) : 14-07-1962

Term of Office : (DoA) 13-02-2023 to (DoR) 13-07-2027

Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra (DoB.) : 29-08-1964

Term of Office : (DoA) 19-05-2023 to (DoR) 28-08-2029

Justice K.V. Viswanathan (DoB.) : 26-05-1966

Term of Office : (DoA) 19-05-2023 to (DoR) 25-05-2031

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan (DoB.) : 02-08-1964

Term of Office : (DoA) 14-07-2023 to (DoR) 01-08-2029

Justice Sarasa Venkatanarayana Bhatti (DoB.) : 06-05-1962

Term of Office : (DoA) 14-07-2023 to (DoR) 05-05-2027

Justice Satish Chandra Sharma (DoB.) : 30-11-1961

Term of Office : (DoA) 09-11-2023 to (DoR) 29-11-2026

Justice Augustine George Masih (DoB.) : 12-03-1963

Term of Office : (DoA) 09-11-2023 to (DoR) 11-03-2028

Justice Sandeep Mehta (DoB.) : 11-01-1963

Term of Office : (DoA) 09-11-2023 to (DoR) 10-01-2028

Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale (DoB.) : 23-06-1962

Term of Office : (DoA) 25-01-2024 to (DoR) 22-06-2027

Justice N Kotiswar Singh (DoB.) : 01-03-1963

Term of Office : (DoA) 18-07-2024 to (DoR) 29-02-2028

Justice R Mahadevan (DoB.) : 10-06-1963

Term of Office : (DoA) 18-07-2024 to (DoR) 09-06-2028

[edit] Retirements, vacancies

[edit] Judges who retired in…

[edit] 2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose (DoB.28.05.1952)

Term of Office: (DoA) 08.03.2013 (F.N.) to (DoR) 27.05.2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar (DoB.28.08.1952)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.09.2011 to (DoR) 27.08.2017

Appointed as The Chief Justice of India on 04.01.2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant (DoB. 30.08.1952)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.08.2014 to (DoR) 29.08.2017

[edit] Vacancies

[edit] 2017/ Feb: 28 out of 31 judges in position

Dhananjay Mahapatra| In one single day, SC gets 5 judges Feb 18 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)

For the first time in 27 years, on Friday , five new Supreme Court judges took oath in a single day , taking the working strength of the apex court to 28, just three short of the sanctioned 31.

Only once before have more SC judges taken oath on the same day , six on October 6, 1989.

The five judges -Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, M M Shantanagoudar, Abdul Nazeer, Navin Sinha and Deepak Gupta -were administered the oath by Chief Justice J S Khehar in the CJI's courtroom, packed with lawyers and relatives of the new appointees, among others.

The five judges were subsequently accommodated on benches in the first five courts, for which the list of business had already been prepared. This resulted in another record in the CJI's courtroom. For the first time, a four-judge bench comprising Justices Khehar, N V Ramana, D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul -heard the cases. Normally , an SC bench comprises two or an odd number of judges.

Every case listed before a bench generally has three sets of files. But with Justice Kaul's sudden addition to an existing three-judge bench, there was no set available for him. Thus, on his first day in office, Justice Kaul had no case file before him and yet he had one of the longest days in court -sitting from 11.15am till 4.15pm with less than an hour for lunch break. Justice Kaul had to share the case file with Justice Ramana.

Ending a nine-month drought in appointments of judges to the SC, the CJIheaded collegium had, on February 3 2017, recommended the five judges to the Centre.

[edit] As in January 2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.M. Lodha (DoB.28.09.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)17.12.2008 to (DoR)27.09.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice H.L. Dattu (DoB.03.12.1950)

Term of Office: (DoA)17.12.2008 to (DoR)02.12.2015

Hon'ble Dr. Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan (DoB.02.07.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)11.05.2009 to (DoR)01.07.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.K. Patnaik (DoB.03.06.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)17.11.2009 to (DoR)02.06.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice T.S. Thakur (DoB.04.01.1952)

Term of Office: (DoA)17.11.2009 to (DoR)03.01.2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.S. Panicker Radhakrishnan (DoB.15.05.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)17.11.2009 to (DoR)14.05.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar (DoB.07.06.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)17.11.2009 to (DoR)06.06.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad (DoB.15.07.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)08.02.2010 to (DoR)14.07.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice H.L. Gokhale (DoB.10.03.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)30.04.2010 to (DoR)09.03.2014

Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra (DoB.28.04.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA)30.04.2010 to (DoR) 27.04.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anil R. Dave (DoB.19.11.1951)

Term of Office: (DoA)30.04.2010 to (DoR)18.11.2016

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya (DoB.15.03.1950)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.09.2011 (F.N.) to (DoR)14.03.2015

Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (DoB.30.10.1949)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.09.2011 (F.N.) to (DoR)29.10.2014

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar (DoB.28.08.1952)

Term of Office: (DoA) 13.09.2011 (F.N.) to (DoR)27.08.2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra (DoB.03.10.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 10.10.2011 to (DoR) 02.10.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jasti Chelameswar (DoB.23.06.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 10.10.2011 (F.N.) to (DoR) 22.06.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla (DoB.23.07.1951)

Term of Office: (DoA) 02.04.2012 (F.N.) to (DoR) 22.07.2016

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi (DoB.18.11.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 23.04.2012 (F.N.) to (DoR) 17.11.2019

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur (DoB.31.12.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 04.06.2012 (F.N.) to (DoR) 30.12.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.Y. Eqbal (DoB.13.02.1951)

Term of Office: (DoA) 24.12.2012 (F.N.) to (DoR) 12.02.2016

Hon'ble Mr. Justice V. Gopala gowda (DoB.06.10.1951)

Term of Office: (DoA) 24.12.2012 (F.N.) to (DoR) 05.10.2016

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Vikramajit Sen (DoB.31.12.1950)

Term of Office: (DoA) 24.12.2012 (F.N.) to (DoR) 30.12.2015

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose (DoB.28.05.1952)

Term of Office: (DoA) 08.03.2013 (F.N.) to (DoR) 27.05.2017

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Kurian Joseph (DoB.30.11.1953)

Term of Office: (DoA) 08.03.2013 (F.N.) to (DoR) 29.11.2018

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri (DoB.07.03.1954)

Term of Office: (DoA) 12.04.2013 (F.N.) to (DoR) 06.03.2019

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde (DoB.24.04.1956)

Term of Office: (DoA) 12.04.2013 (F.N.) to (DoR) 23.04.2021

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Shiva Kirti Singh (DoB.13.11.1951)

Term of Office: (DoA) 19.09.2013 (F.N.) to (DoR) 12.11.2016

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Chockalingam Nagappan (DoB.04.10.1951)

Term of Office: (DoA) 19.09.2013 (F.N.) to (DoR) 03.10.2016

[edit] Background notes

[edit] The May 2019 appointments

DHANANJAY MAHAPATRA, May 23, 2019: The Times of India

For the first time since 2008 when Parliament increased the Supreme Court’s strength to 31 judges, the apex court will function at its full strength as President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday appointed four new judges — Justices Aniruddha Bose, A S Bopanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant.

Parliament had increased SC’s sanctioned strength from 26 to 31 in 2008. The collegium headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi on May 8 reiterated its April 12 recommendation for appointment of Jharkhand HC Chief Justice Bose and Gauhati HC CJ Bopanna as SC judges, brushing aside the Centre’s objections on the ground of seniority and equal representation to states.

On May 8, the collegium of CJI Gogoi and Justices S A Bobde, N V Ramana, Arun Mishra and R F Nariman had also recommended the names of Bombay HC’s Justice Gavai and Himachal Pradesh CJ Kant for appointment as SC judges. With this, the CJI Gogoi-headed collegium has succeeded in appointing 10 SC judges in seven months. The other six are Justices Hemant Gupta, R Subhash Reddy, M R Shah and Ajay Rastogi on November 2 and Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna on January 18.

In the recent past, no collegium headed by CJIs R M Lodha, H L Dattu, T S Thakur, J S Khehar and Dipak Misra succeeded in getting so many SC judges appointed. The collegium’s recommendations also have been cleared expeditiously by the Centre, exemplified by 48 hours taken by the Centre to clear the appointment of Justices Gupta, Reddy, Shah and Rastogi.

Among the four new SC judges likely to take oath in the next two days, Justice Gavai will become CJI for a little over six months in 2025.

[edit] The 2022 May appointments

Dhananjay Mahapatra, May 10, 2022: The Times of India

New Delhi: Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala, who took oath as an SC judge on Monday, was appointed permanent judge of the Gujarat HC on January 28, 2013. 
In contrast, Punj ab and Haryana HC CJ Ravi S hankar Jha was appointed HC judge on October 18, 2005; Allahabad HC CJ Rajesh Bindal on March 22, 2006; Orissa HC CJ S Muralidhar on May 29, 2006; Delhi HC acting CJ Vipin Sanghi on May 29, 2006; Bombay HC CJ Dipankar Datta on June 22, 2006; Madras HC CJ Munishwar Nath Bhandari on July 5, 2007; Patna HC CJ Sanjay Karol on March 8, 2007; Calcutta HC CJ Prakash Srivastava on January 18, 2008, and Andhra Pradesh CJ Prashant Kumar Mishra on December 10, 2009. 
Legal circles are aware that seniority is not the sole criteria for selection of SC judges, from among HC CJs and judges. But it is widely acknowledged in judicial circles that the selection dice gets loaded considerably in favour of HC CJs/judges having sufficient senior ity. The selection of Justices Dhulia and Pardiwala as SC judges came as a surprise to many as they felt there were many HC CJs who have been heading the highest court in various states for a long period of ti me, only to get shunted periodically from one state to another.

If one takes the other often-professed selection factors — representation to unrepresented regions/states and communities in the Supreme Court — to reflect the composite culture of the country, there too the SC collegium faltered.

Justice Dhulia’s selection could pass muster as it accounted for representation to Uttarakhand in the SC. But giving one m ore judge p ost to Gujarat in Justice Pardiwala defied logic as the SC already has two from the state — Justices M R Shah and Bela M Trivedi. Many states — Odisha, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, J& K, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and all northeastern states (excluding Assam) — have been unrepresented for a long time.

Judges, whose parent HCs are either Bom bay and Delhi, dominate the SC with five and four representations, respectively, a ccounting for over 26% of the present strength. Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (undivided) also h ave three judges each in SC. Thus, four states and Delhi account for more than 50% of the judges in the SC, reflecting imbalance in regional representation.

Justices Dhulia and Pardiwala were given oath at the new auditorium in the presence of a ll its judges, a ttorney general, solicitor general and lawyers. While Justice Dhulia will have a short tenure of alittle over three years, Justice Pardiwala will ride on the seniority ticket and go on to succeed Justice P S Narasimha as CJI on May 3, 2028. He will have a tenure of two years, three months and eight days as CJI an d will retire on August 11, 2030.

[edit] The 2024 July appointments

July 17, 2024: The Times of India

With 1st judge from Manipur, SC back at full strength of 34

New Delhi : Three working days after the Supreme Court collegium recommended two judges to be appointed to the top court, law ministry notified the elevation of Justice R Mahadevan, a judge of Madras high court, and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, chief justice of J&K and Ladakh HC, as judges of the apex court.


In two other appointments, Justice D Krishnakumar, a judge of Madras HC, was appointed acting chief justice of HC, and Justice Tashi Rabstan, a judge of J&K and Ladakh HC, as its acting CJ. With these two elevations to SC, the top court will have its full strength of 34 judges, including Chief Justice of India.


The SC collegium had recommended elevation of Justice Singh to SC on July 11. He will be the first judge from Manipur to be appointed to the apex court.


While recommending Justice Singh, the SC collegium had said, “His appointment as a judge of Supreme Court will provide representation to the north-east, and in particular he will be the first judge from Manipur to be appointed as a judge of SC.” Justice Singh hails from Manipur and was appointed as a judge of Gauhati HC on Oct 17, 2011. On formation of Manipur HC, he was transferred as a judge there. On Feb 15, 2023, he was appointed CJ of J&K and Ladakh HC. He is due to retire on Feb 28, 2025.


On the recommendation of Justice Mahadevan, the SC collegium said, “He belongs to a backward community from Tamil Nadu and his appointment will bring diversity to the bench. ”

[edit] Bunch appointments to the SC

[edit] 2011-18

Dhananjay Mahapatra, August 7, 2018: The Times of India

Bunch appointments to the SC, 2011-18
From: Dhananjay Mahapatra, August 7, 2018: The Times of India

Rejecting the contentions of senior Supreme Court judges, the Centre on Monday refused to alter the order of oath-taking for new SC judges scheduled for Tuesday, maintaining that Justice K M Joseph will be sworn in last after Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Saran.

Official sources told TOI that the government took the all-India seniority of the three judges into account while fixing the order of oath in a “legitimate, transparent and traditional” manner. They said fanning a controversy over Justice Joseph’s oath sequence was unnecessary, unwarranted and completely lacked basis.

Rejecting the argument that the order of oath-taking was violative of the principle of seniority, sources said while Madras high court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee was at fourth position in the all-India judges’ seniority list, Orissa HC CJ Saran was at five and Uttarakhand CJ Joseph way below at 39. Interestingly, none of the three will go on to become CJI.

Sources close to Justice Joseph told TOI that he will take oath on Tuesday as per the order fixed by the President, bringing the curtain down on an unsavoury controversy which was triggered by the Centre’s April 30 decision to return the collegium’s January 10 recommendation for reconsideration by the SC.

On Monday, at the customary tea meeting of judges at 10.25 am, Justice Kurian Joseph flagged Justice K M Joseph’s order of oath. He told CJI Dipak Misra that the collegium had recommended Justice Joseph’s elevation to SC on January 10, six months before the names of Justices Banerjee and Saran were considered and recommended. Thus, Justice Joseph should have been first to take oath among the three, he stressed and got support from Justice Madan B Lokur.

However, other judges felt Tuesday’s oath-taking ceremony should proceed smoothly and the issue of government purportedly changing order of seniority, contrary to the sequence of recommendations, could be discussed later in collegium meetings.

Majority of judges believes seniority hasn’t been violated

TOI spoke to a number of judges who said “a noncontroversy is being fanned” and maintained that a majority of judges believed seniority had not been violated by the government as both Justices Banerjee and Saran were considerably ahead of Justice K M Joseph in the pecking order.

The CJI met attorney general K K Venugopal in the afternoon and conveyed the sentiments of Justice Kurian Joseph. The AG, in turn, put up the issue to law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Sources said Prasad was categorical that the Centre went strictly by the book, respecting seniority and tradition, in determining the order of oath. They said though the collegium had indeed recommended Justice Joseph for elevation on January 10, it could not give him any weightage in terms of seniority as the Union government had sought a reconsideration, objecting to his lack of seniority.

Sources said it was only on July 16 that the collegium decided to send the names of Justices Banerjee, Saran and Joseph together, thus permitting the government to note their comparative seniority and fix order of oath.

However, sources said though the files were sent together, the file number containing Justice Joseph’s recommendation was 1/2018, while that of Justices Banerjee and Saran was 3/2018, a clear indication that Justice Joseph had precedence over the other two in getting recommended for appointment as SC judge.

Who are number one, two and three in all-India judges’ seniority list?

Justices D B Bhosale, Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani and N H Patil are number one, two and three in the all-India judges’ seniority list and were appointed as high court judges three years before Justice K M Joseph.

Justice Bhosale became a judge of Bombay high court on January 22, 2001, and was appointed Allahabad HC chief justice on July 30, 2016. Justice Tahilramani became judge of Bombay HC on June 26, 2001, and is its acting CJ. She has been recommended to be appointed as CJ of Madras HC. While Justice Bhosale is due for retirement on October 23, 2018, Justice Tahilramani will superannuate on October 2, 2020.

Bombay HC’s Justice Patil, appointed as a judge on October 12, 2001, will retire on April 6, 2019.

[edit] Centre followed precedent on seniority

Pradeep Thakur, Centre is following precedent on seniority, August 7, 2018: The Times of India

Despite protests from some judges, the warrant of precedence to be followed for the swearing-in of Justice K M Joseph and two others will be exactly in sync with the procedure followed in recent times.

The seniority of judges who take oath in SC on the same date is normally decided on the basis of the date of their initial appointment as HC judges. Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Saran became HC judges on February 5 and 14, 2002, while Justice Joseph became an HC judge on October 14, 2004.

The government seems to be justified in its decision, except for the fact that Justice Joseph’s appointment shouldn’t have been bunched with the other two since his recommendation by the collegium came earlier.

With regard to the 22 sitting SC judges, there have been six instances when judges were administered oath on the same date in a bunch of two or more.

Justices A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and L Nageswara Rao were elevated on May 13, 2016. In this case, Justices Khanwilkar and Chandrachud were appointed HC judges on the same day, March 29, 2000. Seniority was determined by the fact that Justice Khanwilkar became HC chief justice six months before Justice Chandrachud.

The controversy over CJI Dipak Misra being given seniority over Justice J Chelameswar, now retired, when they were elevated to the SC on October 10, 2011, was also for this very reason. Justice Misra was appointed HC judge on January 17, 1996, and Justice Chelameswar on June 23, 1997. The fact that Justice Misra became HC CJ more than two years after Justice Chelameswar didn’t come into the equation.

[edit] Death In Harness

[edit] 1951-2021

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

CJIs who died in harness.

The first one was the first CJI, Harilal Jekisundas Kania, on November 6, 1951. The other CJI who died in office was Sabyasachi Mukherjee on September 25, 1990.

The judges who died in office were

Ghulam Hasan (1954), P Govinda Menon (1957), P Satyanarayan Raju (1966), S C Roy (1971), A K Mukherjea (1973), S N Dwivedi (1974), S M Fazal Ali (1985), R C Patnaik (1992), Yogeshwar Dayal (1994), M Srinivasan (2000) and Shantanagoudar (2021).

[edit] Muslim judges in the Supreme Court

[edit] 2016

The Indian Express, September 6, 2016

Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, elevated respectively in December and April in 2012, retired in 2016.

Since the retirement of two Muslim judges in 2016, the Supreme Court has been functioning without a judge from the community. This is the first time in 11 years, and only the second instance in nearly three decades, that the SC has been without a Muslim judge. The last time a Muslim was appointed to the SC bench was in 2012. Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, elevated respectively in December and April that year, retired this year — Eqbal on February 2 and Kalifulla on July 22. The wait for the next Muslim judge could be prolonged due to the ongoing tussle between the Supreme Court and the government over the procedure for appointment of judges. At present two high courts have Muslim chief justices — Bihar’s CJ Iqbal Ahmed Ansari, a resident of Assam, retires next October while Himachal’s CJ Mansoor Ahmad Mir, a resident of J&K, retires in April 2017.

A high court judge retires at 62, a Supreme Court judge at 65. The SC has a maximum strength of 31 judges and currently has 28. Four more judges will retire this year — Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice Chockalingam Nagappan in October, followed by Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Anil R Dave in November.

Former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan expressed concern that the Supreme Court does not have a Muslim judge. “Hope it gets a Muslim judge soon,” he told The Indian Express. “It’s not a question of their rights being denied, it’s a question of proper representation of all religions, castes and regions at the apex court. In many countries, special provisions are made to ensure the proper representation of all regions, religions and communities at the national court.”

Of the 196 retired and 28 present justices and chief justices that have served in the Supreme Court, 17 or 7.5 per cent have been Muslims. Of these, four rose to become CJI — M Hidayatullah, M Hameedullah Beg, A M Ahmadi and Altamas Kabir. The first woman judge of the Supreme Court was a Muslim: Justice M Fathima Beevi, who served from October 6, 1989, to April 29, 1992.

The last time when the Supreme Court did not have a Muslim judge stretched to nearly 2½ years, from April 2003 to September 2005, the longest such stretch and the only one since December 1988. After Justice S S M Quadri retired on April 4, 2003, Justice Altamas Kabir was appointed on September 9, 2005.

This is in contrast to a four-month period from December 2012 to April 2013, when the apex court had as many as four Muslim Judges: CJI Altamas Kabir, Justice Aftab Alam, Justice Eqbal and Justice Kalifulla.

[edit] Women SC judges

1989-2018: There were seven women judges in the Supreme Court
From May 1, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

1989-2018: There were seven women judges in the Supreme Court

Justice M. Fathima Beevi (from 1989 to 1992),

Justice Sujata V Manohar (1994-1999),

Justice Ruma Pal (2000-2006),

Justice Gyan Sudha Misra (2010-2014),

Justice Ranjana P Desai (2011-2014)

Justice R Banumathi 13.08.2014 (F.N.) to (DoR) 19.07.2020

Justice Indu Malhotra April 2018 to

[edit] See also

Supreme Court: India (mainly SC's rulings)

Supreme Court, India: Administrative issues

Supreme Court: India: Chief Justices

Supreme Court: India: Sitting judges