Two new SC judges to be sworn in on May 19

The Supreme Court will get two new judges on Friday as the Centre has, within 48 hours, cleared the Collegium's proposal to elevate Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior advocate K V Viswanathan as top court judges.

The development also came on a day when, in a surprise reshuffle, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju was replaced by Union Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Read | Meghwal assumes charge as Law Minister, asserts no confrontation with judiciary

According to a notice published on the SC website, Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mishra and senior advocate Viswanathan will be administered the oath of the office by the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on May 19.

Law Minister Meghwal tweeted that President is pleased to appoint Justice Mishra and Vishwanathan as SC judges.

Notably, the recommendations were made by the Collegium on May 16.

On Thursday morning, Rijiju was shifted out and given the charge of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Former bureaucrat Meghwal, who hails from Rajasthan, has been given the new law ministry portfolio.

Of the two new judges, Vishwanathan will be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India for a period of nine months from August 11, 2030 till his retirement on May 25, 2031.

The Collegium, headed by the CJI and also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, K M Joseph, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna, had on Tuesday unanimously resolved to the make the recommendations against the two vacancies which arose after the retirement of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and M R Shah.

The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

Justice Mishra, who hails from Chhattisgarh High Court, ranks at serial number 21 in the All-India Seniority List of judges of the High Courts.

He was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on December 10, 2009. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on October 13, 2021.

Vishwanathan, a distinguished member of the Bar of the Supreme Court has wide experience and profound knowledge and is known in the legal fraternity for his integrity.

After completing the five-year integrated law degree from Coimbatore Law College, Bharathiyar University, Vishwanathan enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988. Following his practise before the Supreme Court for over two decades, he was designated as a senior advocate in 2009.

He has appeared in a wide range of cases on diverse subjects including Constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law, the law of insolvency, and arbitration.

Born on May 26, 1966, Vishwanathan, on his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court, would serve in that capacity until May 25, 2031. Upon the retirement of Justice J B Pardiwala on August 11, 2030, Viswanathan would be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India till his retirement.

Of all the sitting SC judges, Justice P S Narasimha is the only other judge who has directly been elevated to the Supreme Court.