SC gets 4 new judges within 48 hours

Four Chief Justices of different High Courts were appointed as Supreme Court judges on Friday following an approval by President Ram Nath Kovind last night.

The judges who took oath today included Justice Hemant Gupta, Justice R Subhash Reddy, Justice MR Shah and Justice Ajay Rastogi. With their appointment, the working strength of the apex court is now 28 against sanctioned strength of 31 judges.

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi recommended the names on Wednesday. Hemant Gupta was the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court; R. Subhash Reddy was the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, MR Shah was the Chief Justice Patna High Court and Ajay Rastogi was the Chief Justice Tripura High Court.

"I am in the awe with the historic speed of the central government of clearing the way of the swearing-in ceremony of four judges to the apex court within 48 hours after the SC Collegium sent their names," CJI Gogoi said while addressing the media.

The Supreme Court is planning to translate judgments in Hindi language and later in regional languages for the benefit of litigants, he added.

CJI Gogoi also stressed that the possibility of providing a one-page summary of voluminous judgement would be considered for the easier understanding of litigants.

On Thursday, CJI Gogoi established an in-house think tank to strengthen the knowledge infrastructure of the Supreme Court and initiate the process of enhancing its knowledge needs.

"The knowledge needs of the judiciary is rapidly expanding. The range, content, and complexity of issues that are adjudicated in our court are growing exponentially. To meet these knowledge needs, the judiciary requires a strong knowledge and intellectual infrastructure," CJI Gogoi had said.