Two new judges sworn-in as Supreme Court judges; top court gets full strength of 34
NEW DELHI, JULY 18 : Two new judges — Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice R. Mahadevan — were sworn in as Judges of the Supreme Court on July 18, Thursday, taking the number of judges to 34, the actual sanctioned strength of the top court. They were sworn-in as Judges of the apex court by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud. The CJI administered the oath of office to Justices Singh and Mahadevan.
The Swearing-in-Ceremony was held at the premises of the apex court. With the swearing-in of these two new judges, the top court has attained its full strength of 34 judges, including the CJI. The Supreme Court secretary general read out the Presidential Warrant of appointment for Justices Singh and Mahadevan appointing them as Supreme Court judge
The SC Collegium on July 11, Thursday, recommended to the Centre the names of the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Justice Singh and Acting Chief of Madras High Court Justice Mahadevan for elevation to the apex court.
Acting on the recommendations of the SC Collegium, the Centre on July 16, Tuesday, notified their appointment as judges of the apex court.
Justice Singh would be the first Judge from Manipur to be elevated to the SC.
“His (Justice Singh) appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular, he will be the first judge from the State of Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court,” stated the resolution of Collegium.
It further said, “Justice Singh has an impeccable record, both in judicial capacity and in terms of the work which has been rendered by him on the administrative side, as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Considering the candidature of Justice N Kotiswar Singh in terms of his judicial performance, administrative acumen, integrity and merit, the Collegium is of the view that he is eminently suitable for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.”
It is to be noted that Justice Mahadevan, born in 1963 in Chennai, graduated from the Madras Law College before being enrolled as an advocate in 1989. He mainly practised in civil, criminal and writ cases, but his area of specialisation was on tax law.
He was elevated as a judge of the High Court in 2013. He is well-known for his erudition in Tamil literature, ancient and modern. His late father M Aranganathan was a Tamil writer of repute, who ran a literary magazine called Mundril. Justice Mahadevan runs the Mundril Literary Society and has instituted the Aranganathan Literary Awards that are awarded annually to Tamil writers. The awards carry a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation.
The SC Collegium is a five-member body, led by the CJI Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy. The SC Collegium recommends the elevation and transfer of judges to the SC and various High Courts across the country.
-PTI
