NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday administered the oath of office to Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti as the judges of the Supreme Court at a brief ceremony attended by judges and lawyers.
The Centre had on Wednesday notified the appointment of Telangana High Court Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Kerala High Court Chief Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti as the judges of the Supreme Court a week after the five-member Collegium led by CJI Chandrachud recommended their names for elevation.
With these two new appointments, the working strength of the top court has gone up to 32 judges against a sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI. The Supreme Court had been functioning with only 30 judges following the retirement of three judges during the supper vacation another one last week. Justice Bhuyan’s parent high court is Gauhati High Court while Justice Bhatti’s parent high court is Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Justice Bhuyan was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011. Justice Bhatti was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on April 12 2013. The High Court of Andhra Pradesh does not have any representation on an SC Bench since August 2022.