Hyderabad:Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana on Tuesday administered the oath of office to nine new judges, including three women, of the Supreme Court. With the swearing-in of the new judges, the strength of the Supreme Court has risen to 33, including the CJI.
The nine new judges who were administered the oath of office as apex court judges include - Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice B V Nagarathna, Justice C T Ravikumar, Justice M M Sundresh, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice P S Narasimha. Before the administration of the oath of office, the warrant of appointment issued by President Ram Nath Kovind was read. This is the first time in the history of the Supreme Court that nine judges are taking the oath of office at one go.
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Three out of the nine new judges -- Justices Nath, Nagarathna and Narasimha -- are in line to become the CJI.
Justice Nagarathna, the daughter of former CJI E S Venkataramiah, is poised to become the first woman CJI in September 2027. She enrolled as an advocate on October 28, 1987, at Bengaluru and practised in the fields pertaining to the Constitution, commerce, insurance and service. She was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Karnataka on February 18, 2008, and became a permanent Judge on February 17, 2010. She will have a tenure as an SC judge till October 29, 2027, and after that, may have a tenure of over one month as the first woman CJI.
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Traditionally, the oath of office to new judges is administered in the CJI's courtroom. However, the ceremony this time was held in the auditorium of the apex court's additional building complex in adherence to the COVID protocol.
It was on August 17 the apex court Collegium recommended these nine names for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court. Later, the President signed the warrants of their appointment as apex court judges.
