SC set to get five new judges on Monday

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is all set to get five new judges, taking its strength to 32 against the sanctioned strength of 34, on Monday when three chief justices-- Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol and P V Sanjay Kumar -- of high courts of Rajasthan, Patna and Manipur respectively will take oath alongside two other senior high court judges.

Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah of the Patna High Court and Justice Manoj Misra of the Allahabad High Court will also be administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) as apex court judges in a ceremony to be held at the court's auditorium in its new building complex.

The senior most among the five judges, whose names were officially announced by the Centre on Saturday, is Justice Mithal whose parent cadre is the Allahabad High Court.

He was serving as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court since October 14, last year.

Born on June 17, 1961, Justice Mithal is a 1982 commerce graduate from Allahabad University. He completed his LLB in 1985 from Meerut College and enrolled as an advocate in the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh the same year.

He started practising in the Allahabad High Court in 1985 and served as the standing counsel for the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad. He was also the standing counsel of Dr B R Ambedkar University, Agra, between 1990 and February 2006.

Justice Mithal was elevated as additional judge of the Allahabad High Court on July 7, 2006, and took oath as permanent Judge on July 2, 2008. He took oath as the Chief Justice of the Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh on January 4, 2021.

The second senior most judge who will take oath on Monday, is Justice Karol, whose parent HC cadre is Himachal Pradesh. He was the chief justice of the Patna High Court at the time of elevation.

Justice Karol was born on August 23, 1961. An alumnus of the prestigious St. Edward School of Shimla, he graduated with honours in history from Government Degree College, Shimla.

A native of Kangra district, he obtained his degree in law from Himachal Pradesh University and enrolled as an advocate in 1986. Justice Karol practised in various courts, including the Supreme Court. He has specialised in matters related to Constitution, taxation, corporate, criminal and civil cases. He was designated as a senior advocate in 1999.

Justice Karol was also the advocate general of Himachal Pradesh from 1998 to 2003 and was elevated as a Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on March 8, 2007. He was appointed as acting Chief Justice of the court with effect from April 25, 2017.

He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court on November 9, 2018, and of the Patna High Court on November 11, 2019.

Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, who originally belonged to the Telangana High Court, is third in the list of five judges and was heading the Manipur High Court at the time of recommendation by the Collegium on December 13 last year and subsequent clearance by the Centre.

Born on August 14, 1963, he did his graduation in commerce from Nizam College, Hyderabad and secured his LL.B degree from Delhi University in 1988. Justice Kumar enrolled as a member of the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in August 1988 and served as a government pleader in the Andhra Pradesh High Court from 2000 to 2003.

He was elevated to the bench as an additional judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on August 8, 2008, and assumed charge as a permanent judge of the court on January 20, 2010. Justice Kumar assumed charge as a judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana on October 14, 2019. He took oath as the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court on February 14, 2021.

Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah of the Patna High Court is the fourth judge who has been appointed to the SC.

Born on May 11, 1963, he enrolled with the Bihar State Bar Council on September 27, 1991, and was standing counsel for the state government from March 2006 to August 2010.

He was a government advocate in the Patna High Court till his elevation as Judge in the same court on June 20, 2011. He was transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court on October 10, 2021, and back to the Patna High Court on June 20, 2022.

Justice Manoj Misra, the fifth in the list, was born on June 2, 1965. He enrolled as an advocate on December 12, 1988, and was elevated as additional judge at the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011. He took oath as a permanent judge on August 6, 2013.

All the five names for judgeship in the top court were recommended by the six-member Supreme Court Collegium on December 13 last year.

On January 31, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended two more names for elevation as top court judges -- Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Aravind Kumar.

Out of the 27 apex court judges at present, eight are scheduled to demit office in 2023.