New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday withdrew its full strength of 34 judges after the Center approved the appointments of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Arvind Kumar.
A few days back, the top court got five more judges.
The newly appointed Chief Justices of the Allahabad and Gujarat High Courts are Rajesh Bindal and Arvind Kumar, respectively.
Announcing the appointments, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted: “In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President of India appoints the following Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court. I wish them the best of luck. 1. Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court. 2. Arvind Kumar, Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court.
The Supreme Court Collegium – the five senior-most judges, including the Chief Justice of India, who decide on judges’ appointments – had sent the names of these two judges to the Center on January 31.
earlier this week, five new judge Took oath, bringing down the strength of the apex court from 27 to 32. They were Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice of Patna High Court, PV Sanjay Kumar, Chief Justice of Manipur High Court, Ahsanuddin. Justice Amanullah of the Patna High Court and Manoj Mishra of the Allahabad High Court.
Although a joint proposal for the promotion of the five was sent in December, the central government had cleared the appointments only last Thursday.
Judicial appointments have long been a bone of contention Controversy Between the executive and the judiciary, both sides have recently hardened their stances. While Rijiju has called the collegium system “vague” and “foreign”, the top court has hit back saying it is the “law of the land” that must be followed.
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