New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has reached its full strength of 34 judges with the appointment of three new judges today. The Central Government has approved the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium, which is the body of senior-most judges that selects and transfers judges of the higher judiciary. The three new judges are Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Justice Augustin George Masih, and Justice Sandeep Mehta, who were the chief justices of Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gauhati High Courts respectively. They will take oath today at 4.15 pm in a ceremony presided over by the Chief Justice of India, Justice N.V. Ramana.
The three new judges have rich and varied experience in the legal field and have served in different high courts across the country. Here is a brief profile of each of them:
Justice Satish Chandra Sharma: He is the senior-most among the three new judges and is ranked sixth in the seniority list of judges of the All India High Court. He was born on November 30, 1961, and hails from Madhya Pradesh. He started his legal career in 1984 and became a renowned lawyer in the state. He was appointed as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 18, 2008, and later served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court and the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court. He was transferred to the Delhi High Court as its Chief Justice on June 28, 2022. He has dealt with several important cases, such as the disqualification of 17 MLAs in Karnataka, the Telangana RTC strike, the Delhi riots, and the oxygen crisis.
Justice Augustin George Masih: He is the second senior-most among the three new judges and is ranked seventh in the seniority list of judges of the All India High Court. He was born on March 10, 1960, and belongs to Punjab. He started his legal career in 1983 and became a prominent lawyer in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was appointed as a judge of the same high court on July 10, 2008, and later elevated as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court on May 30, 2023. He has dealt with several important cases, such as the Punjab land acquisition scam, the Haryana Jat agitation, the Gurugram school murder, and the Rajasthan political crisis.
Justice Sandeep Mehta: He is the junior-most among the three new judges and is ranked 23rd in the seniority list of judges of the All India High Court. He was born on September 29, 1964, and hails from Rajasthan. He started his legal career in 1988 and became a reputed lawyer in the Rajasthan High Court. He was appointed as a judge of the same high court on May 30, 2011, and later elevated as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on February 15, 2023. He has dealt with several important cases, such as the Assam NRC, the Manipur fake encounter, the Meghalaya coal mine tragedy, and the Arunachal Pradesh boundary dispute.
