Supreme Court: India: Sitting judges
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The sitting judges
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
As in January 2018
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.
Judges who retired in…
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
Vacancies
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.
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
Bunch appointments to the SC
2011-18
Dhananjay Mahapatra, August 7, 2018: The Times of India
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.
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.
Muslim judges in the Supreme Court
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.
Women SC judges
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
See also
Supreme Court: India (mainly SC's rulings)
Supreme Court, India: Administrative issues
Supreme Court: India: Chief Justices
Supreme Court: India: Sitting judges
