Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday administered the oath of office to three high court chief justices Satish Chandra Sharma, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta as the judges of the Supreme Court.
The three judges were sworn in at a function in the Supreme Court complex in the presence of other judges, lawyers and their family members.
With the swearing-in of the three new judges, the top court will now function with its full strength of 34 judges.
Earlier in the day, Sharma, the Delhi High Court chief justice, Masih and Mehta, his counterparts in the Rajasthan and Gauhati high courts, respectively, were appointed as top court judges.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced their appointment on X.
Their names were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium on November 6. Justice Sharma was appointed as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 18, 2008 and was elevated as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Telangana on October 11, 2021. He was thereafter transferred to the Delhi High Court on June 28, 2022.
“Justice Satish Chandra Sharma has served as a judge of the high court for more than 15 years and as chief justice of the high court for more than two years. The judgments authored by him deal with issues in various branches of law and stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence.
“Before his elevation as a judge of the high court of Madhya Pradesh, he practised in constitutional, service, civil and criminal matters,” the Supreme Court collegium’s resolution of November 6 had noted.
Justice A G Masih was appointed as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 10, 2008 and was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court on May 30, 2023.
“During his long tenure as a judge of the high court Justice Masih has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. Before his elevation, he practised in constitutional, service, labour, and civil matters.
Justice Masih stands at serial number seven in the combined all-India seniority of high court judges and the seniority of judges hailing from the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, he stands at serial number one,” the resolution had said, adding that Justice Masih belongs to a minority community.
About Justice Mehta, the resolution had said he was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court on May 30, 2011, and having attained seniority in his parent high court, he was elevated as the chief justice of the Gauhati High Court and is serving there since February 15, 2023.
“The Rajasthan High Court, which is his parent High Court, is a large High Court which does not have representation on the bench of the Supreme Court. Justice Mehta has served as a judge of the High Court for more than 12 years.
“During his long tenure as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court and as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, Justice Mehta has acquired significant adjudicatory experience,” the collegium resolution had said.
It added that before his elevation, Justice Mehta practised before trial courts, the high court and the Supreme Court, mainly in constitutional and criminal laws and the judgments authored by him dealing with issues in various branches of law stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence.
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