The government has approved all nine names, including three women judges, recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment as judges of the top court. The names have been sent to the President for approval.
The Supreme Court Collegium, comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices U U Lalit, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, and L Nageswara Rao, had on August 17 recommended nine names, including eight High Court judges and an advocate, for elevation to the apex court.
The Supreme Court, which has 25 judges against a sanctioned strength of 34, will be left with only one vacancy after the new judges are sworn in.
The new judges of the top court include Justice BV Nagarathna, who will be in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in September 2027, Justice Bela M Trivedi, Justice Hema Kohli, Justice CT Ravikumar, Justice MM Sundresh, and senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha. Justices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Vikram Nath, and Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari are also among those appointed to the Supreme Court.
The judges are likely to take oath on August 31.
The impasse over the appointment has led to a situation in which not a single name for the judgeship in the apex court could be recommended after the superannuation of the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi on November 17, 2019.
