Four new judges on Monday took oath as judges of the Supreme Court. With this, the Supreme Court strength went up to 34 — the highest in its history.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi administered the oath to the judges in Court no 1.
Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Krishna Murari, Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice V Ramasubramanian and Kerala High Court Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy took the oath.
The Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had recommended their elevation as apex court judges on August 28. The Collegium had stated that “combined seniority on the all-India basis of chief justices and senior puisne judges of high courts, apart from their competence, conduct and integrity” had been taken into consideration.
Justice Krishna Murari is fifth in the list of all-India seniority of High Court judges. He was appointed a judge of the Allahabad High Court in 2004 and became the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in June 2018. Justice S Ravindra Bhat is 12th in the all-India list. He became a judge of the Delhi High Court in July 2004 and became the chief justice of Rajasthan High Court in May. Justice Ramasubramanian is 42nd in the list. He was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2006 and became Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in June. Justice Roy is 46th in the seniority list. He was appointed a judge of the Gauhati High Court in 2006 and became the chief justice of Kerala High Court in August 2018.
—India Legal Bureau