Justices Venkatanarayana Bhatti, Ujjal Bhuyan sworn in as SC Judges; working strength now 32

With the appointments of Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti and Ujjal Bhuyan as Supreme Court judges, the vacancies in the apex court have down to two.

New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud Friday administered oath to Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti as judges to the apex court. On July 12, the Centre had appointed justices Bhuyan and Bhatti as judges to the apex court.

With their appointments, the apex court’s strength rose to 32 with two more vacancies remaining.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a tweet, had said: “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President, after consultation with the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following 2 Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court of India -- of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Chief Justice High Court of Telangana and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, Chief Justice High Court of Kerala”.

On July 5, the apex court collegium had recommended the elevation of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Chief Justice High Court of Telangana and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, Chief Justice High Court of Kerala, as judges to the apex court.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on 17 October 2011. He was the senior-most judge of his parent High Court and he was serving as Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana from 28 June 2022.

Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on 12 April 2013 and he is the senior- most in his parent high court. The collegium had said that the High Court of Andhra Pradesh does not have any representation on the Bench of the Supreme Court since August 2022.

He was transferred to the High Court of Kerala in March 2019 and was serving as Chief Justice there from 01 June 2023. The collegium, in its resolution, had said that during his long tenure as a judge of the High Court of Andhra High Pradesh and as a Judge and subsequently as Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala, Justice Bhatti has acquired considerable experience in various branches of law.