New Delhi:President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday appointed five new Judges to the Supreme Court after the Centre cleared the proposal by the Collegium that was shared in December last year.
"As per the provisions under the Constitution of India, Hon’ble President of India has appointed the following Chief Justices and Judges of the High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court. I extend best wishes to all of them", wrote Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in a tweet.
Names of five appointed judges:
Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court
Justice Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice of Patna High Court
Justice P. V. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Justice of Manipur High Court
Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Judge, Patna High Court
Justice Manoj Misra, Judge, Allahabad High Court
Once they take oath early next week, the strength of the apex court will go up to 32 judges. Currently, the top court is functioning with 27 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.
Two more names remain to be cleared by the Centre after which the Supreme Court could function with its full capacity of 34 judges.
The appointment comes after the Union government yesterday told the Supreme Court that five new judges, recommended by the collegium, would be appointed soon. Last month, the collegium recommended the names of three high court chief justices and two judges for elevation to the apex court.
Attorney General R Venkataramani told a bench of Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka that the warrant for an appointment of these five names is expected to be issued soon.
The Supreme Court was hearing a matter related to the Centre's alleged delay in clearing names recommended by the collegium.
The bench, during the hearing, expressed displeasure over the delay by the Centre in clearing recommendations for the transfer of high court judges, saying, "it is a very, very serious issue".
"Don't make us take a stand, which will be very uncomfortable," the bench observed.