New Delhi: Nine new judges, including three women, were on Tuesday administered oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court, taking its strength to 33.This is the first time that nine judges took oath of office as Supreme Court judges in one go.The appointments end a 21-month impasse in the Supreme Court collegium, which did not make any new recommendations since then CJI Ranjan Gogoi’s retirement in November 2019. The impasse was apparently caused by disagreements over the elevation of Tripura high court Chief Justice Akil Kureshi.Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana administered the oath of office to the new judges in a swearing-in ceremony held in the auditorium of the Supreme Court’s additional building complex.With the swearing-in of the nine new judges, the Supreme Court is just one short of its sanctioned strength of 34.The nine new judges are Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B.V. Nagarathna, Justice C.T. Ravikumar, Justice M.M. Sundresh, Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice P.S. Narasimha.Justice Nagarathna, the daughter of former CJI E.S. Venkataramiah, is in line to become the first woman CJI in September 2027.Justices Nath and Narasimha are also in line to become CJIs.Narasimha was a senior advocate and former additional solicitor general.It’s official!President appoints 9 New Judges of the Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/HQQgIopCEI— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) August 26, 2021Traditionally, the oath of office to new judges is administered in the CJI’s courtroom, but the swearing-in ceremony was shifted to the auditorium keeping in view the need for strict adherence to COVID-19 norms, a press release issued by the apex court’s public relations office on Monday had said.Before the administration of the oath of office, the warrant of appointment issued by President Ram Nath Kovind was read during the swearing-in ceremony.Three future CJIs elevatedJustice Nath is in line to become the CJI upon the retirement of sitting apex court judge Justice Surya Kant in February 2027.Justice Nath would be succeeded by Justice Nagarathna, who would have a tenure of just over a month as the head of the judiciary.Justice Narasimha would succeed Justice Nagarathna as the CJI and would have a tenure of over six months.The apex court collegium had on August 17 recommended these nine names for appointment as judges of the top court.Later, the president had signed the warrants of their appointment as apex court judges.The top court, which came into being on January 26, 1950, has seen very few women judges since its inception and in the last over 71 years has appointed only eight lady judges starting from M. Fathima Beevi in 1989.Until Tuesday, Justice Indira Banerjee was the lone serving woman judge in the apex court. She was elevated on August 7, 2018 from the Madras high court, where she was serving as the chief justice.While high court judges retire at the age of 62, the retirement age of Supreme Court judges is 65.The recommendation of these nine names by the five-member collegium headed by CJI Ramana at its meeting on August 17 had put an end to the 21-month-long logjam over the appointment of new judges to the top court.The impasse over the appointment had led to a situation in which not a single name for the judgeship in the apex court could be recommended after the superannuation of then CJI Ranjan Gogoi on November 17, 2019.Exclusion of Justice Kureshi?The appointments have not been without controversy as Tripura high court Chief Justice Akil Kureshi was not among those picked by the Supreme Court collegium for elevation to the top court. This was surprising, as he was the senior-most high court chief justice after Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, who was elevated.The BJP government at the Centre scuttled Justice Kureshi’s elevation as chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh high court in 2019. He was later sent to the Tripura high court. The current government’s opposition to Justice Kuresh apparently stems from the judge’s 2010 decision to send Amit Shah, who was then the Gujarat home minister, to police custody in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.Analysts, therefore, suspect that the five-member Supreme Court collegium has been reticent to recommend Justice Kureshi’s elevation to the top court, since the Union government is unlikely to approve it.The 21-month impasse was apparently caused by Justice R.F. Nariman, who was part of the collegium before his retirement on August 12, 2021, who took a stand that he would oppose any recommendations if Justice Kureshi was excluded. As LiveLaw pointed out, it is noteworthy that the nine names were cleared by the five-member Supreme Court collegium immediately after Justice Nariman’s retirement.Also Read: Justice Akil Kureshi Elevation: Should Token Gender Empowerment Trump Fairness?LiveLaw‘s Manu Sebastian also noted that the collegium’s focus “appeared to have been more on diversity than seniority, as four puisne judges – two women and two persons from marginalised communities – have been elevated”.However, this still does not explain why Justice Kureshi was excluded, as the Supreme Court still has one vacancy. “If the collegium chooses not to stand by the judges and opts to toe the executive line in judicial appointments, there can’t be a bigger threat to judicial independence,” Sebastian wrote in LiveLaw.(With PTI inputs)
