With two new judges, SC functions with full strength

The Supreme Court on Monday got new judges as Justices Rajesh Bindal and Aravind Kumar were sworn in to the posts in a programme here.

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud administered the office to them in the presence of all other SC judges and lawyers.

With this, the number of judges in the Supreme Court rose to its sanctioned strength of 34.

Bindal was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, while Kumar, who is from Karnataka, was the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.

The recommendations on their names were made by the Collegium on January 31. On February 10, the Union government cleared the appointment of Justices Bindal and Kumar as judges of the Supreme Court. Earlier, in 2019, the Supreme Court functioned with full strength of judges.

On February 4, the Centre issued notifications on the elevation of Justices Pankaj Mithal, Sanjay Karol, P V Sanjay Kumar, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Manoj Misra as judges of the Supreme Court. All five judges had assumed office on February 6.

Justice Bindal was appointed as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 22, 2006. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on October 11, 2021. He is the seniormost Judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which is one of the largest High Courts with a sanctioned strength of 85 judges.

Justice Kumar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on June 26, 2009 and as a permanent Judge on December 7, 2012. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat on October 13, 2021.