New Delhi, Sept 11: President Pratibha Patil has appointed Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, S.J. Mukhopadhaya; Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, J.S. Khehar; and Justice Ranjana Desai of the Bombay High Court as Supreme Court Judges.
They will be sworn in by Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia on September 13 in his court hall, The Hindu reported.
Justice Desai will be the second woman Judge in the Supreme Court. In its sanctioned strength of 31 judges, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra is the only woman judge now.
With the Law Ministry receiving the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium for the elevation of Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Deepak Misra and Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Jasti Chelameswar as Supreme Court judges, the court will get two more judges.
Justice Deepak Misra will be completing 58 years of age in October. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Patna High Court in December 2009 and shifted to the Delhi High Court in May 2010. He will have a tenure of seven years and get an opportunity to become the Chief Justice of India.
In that event, he will be the second judge from Orissa to hold the highest judicial office after the former Chief Justice of India, Rangnath Misra.
Justice Chelameswar, 58, will represent Andhra Pradesh following the retirement of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy in July. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in May 2007 and then shifted to the Kerala High Court in March 2010. He will have a tenure of seven years as Supreme Court judge.
Justice B. Bhattacharya of the Calcutta High Court has been appointed Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court to succeed Justice Mukhopadhaya. Justice Vikramajit Sen of the Delhi High Court has been appointed Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court to succeed Justice Khehar.
Justice A.K. Goel of the Punjab and Haryana High Court is being made the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, with the incumbent Madan Bhimarao Lokur being shifted to the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
