Two More Judges Join Supreme Court, Strength Increases to 32

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday administered the oath of office to Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti as the judges of the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the Centre notified the appointment of Telangana High Court Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Kerala High Court Chief Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti as the judges of the Supreme Court.

A five-member Collegium led by CJI Chandrachud recommended their names for elevation to the Supreme Court.

With these two new appointments, the working strength of the top court became 32 judges against a sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI.

The Supreme Court had been functioning with only 30 judges following the retirement of three judges during the summer vacation and another one last week.

Justice Bhuyan’s parent high court is the Gauhati High Court while Justice Bhatti’s parent high court is the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Justice Bhuyan was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011. He is serving as Chief Justice of the High Court for the state of Telangana since June 28, 2022.

Justice Bhatti was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on April 12 2013. He was transferred to the High Court of Kerala in March 2019 and was serving as Chief Justice there since June 1, 2023.