New Delhi: Four new judges of the Supreme Court will take oath of office Friday, raising their number to 31, the full sanctioned strength. As per a circular issued Thursday by the apex court, Justices BR Gavai, Surya Kant, Aniruddha Bose and AS Bopanna will be administered oath of office by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi at 10.30am Friday in court number one of the Supreme Court.
This is the first time the apex court will have its full strength of judges since 2008 when Parliament had increased the number of judges from 26 to 31. As of now, the apex court is functioning with 27 judges, including the CJI.
President Ram Nath Kovind had issued warrants of appointment Wednesday of Justices Gavai, Surya Kant, Bose and Bopanna as apex court judges.
The names of Justices Bose and Bopanna were earlier returned by the Centre to the Supreme Court collegium citing seniority and representation of regions as the reasons.
In its May 8 resolution, the five-member collegium had reiterated its recommendation to elevate Justices Bose and Bopanna, observing that nothing adverse has been found regarding their competence, conduct or integrity.
Justice Gavai, who was a judge of the Bombay High Court, will become the CJI for a little over six months in 2025 and he will be the second Chief Justice of India belonging to the Scheduled Caste community after Justice (retd) K G Balakrishnan.
Justice Surya Kant, who is the incumbent chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, will succeed Justice Gavai as the CJI in November 2025 and he will remain in office till February 2027.
PTI