Supreme Court gets five new judges; working strength increases to 32

On December 13, the six-member Supreme Court Collegium recommended all five names for Supreme Court judgeships. The Law Minister approved the appointments on February 4.  

The five new justices appointed to the Supreme Court took their oaths on Monday, bringing the total number of judges to 32 against the sanctioned strength of 34. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud administered the oath of office to five new Supreme Court justices. 

Those appointed are Justices Pankaj Mithal, Sanjay Karol, P V Sanjay Kumar, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Manoj Misra. On December 13, 2022, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended their names for promotion as Supreme Court judges.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the appointment of Justices Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Justice Karol, Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Justice Kumar, Chief Justice of Manipur High Court, Justice Amanullah of Patna High Court, and Justice Misra of Allahabad,  on February 4.

The judges took their oath against the backdrop of the collegium system becoming a major flashpoint between the Supreme Court and the Centre over the process of appointing judges sparking an intense debate that has seen sharp comments from Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in recent times.

Recently, Law Minister Rijiju referred to the Collegium as 'alien' to the Indian Constitution, while Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar questioned the Supreme Court's decision in 2015 to strike down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and a related constitution amendment Act.

The government sought to replace the Collegium system of appointing Supreme Court and High Court judges with a new procedure through the NJAC law. The Centre had informed the Supreme Court that the Collegium's recommendation to appoint five justices to the apex court would soon be approved.

On January 31, the Supreme Court collegium recommended Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Aravind Kumar for elevation as top court judges.

The supreme court will have its full strength of 34 judges once they are appointed and take the oath of office.

While recommending the two candidates, the Collegium said that the names supplied by it on December 13, 2022, 'will take precedence over the two names currently suggested for appointment to the Supreme Court.'