Overview

• Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrasekhar administered the oath on Tuesday, elevating 14 lawyers as Additional Judges for initial two-year terms.
• The appointments followed the Supreme Court Collegium’s August 19 recommendations and the President’s August 27 notification under Article 224.
• With 82 judges now working against a sanctioned strength of 94, the court is at its highest recent staffing level and remains the country’s second largest after Allahabad High Court.
• Several appointees have served as government law officers, including a former Deputy Solicitor General, the state’s Chief Public Prosecutor, and special public prosecutors for the CBI, NIA and ED, as well as the Bombay Bar Association’s secretary.
• Reporting noted that CJI B. R. Gavai recused himself where he had a personal interest and that one appointee, Raj Wakode, was described by a local lawyer as a distant relative, drawing attention to collegium optics.