Centre approves elevation of Karnataka CJ as SC judge

New Delhi: The Union government on Wednesday approved the Supreme Court Collegium’s recommendation for elevation of Karnataka High Court’s Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale as a judge of the top court. Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced this on X.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution, President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court as Judge of Supreme Court,” he wrote.

After the development, the Supreme Court would work with its sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

On January 19, the five-judge Collegium led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud picked up name of Justice Varale, senior-most Judge belonging to a Scheduled Caste to fill up the vacancy created upon retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on December 25, 2023. Justice Varale, originally from the Bombay High Court, is the only Chief Justice belonging to a Scheduled Caste among the Chief Justices of High Courts across the country. He stood at serial number six in the combined all India seniority of High Court Judges. 

Justice Varale was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Bombay on July 18, 2008. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka on October 15, 2022.

Before his elevation as a judge of the High Court, he practised at the Bar for over 23 years in civil, criminal, labour and administrative law matters in district and sessions court and in Constitutional matters at the High Court Bench at Aurangabad.