Justices Maheshwari, Khanna to be sworn in on Friday

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna would on Friday be administered the oath of office as the Supreme Court judges by the Chief Justice of India.

The swearing-in ceremony would take place at 10.30 am on February 18 in Chief Justice's courtroom, a notification issued on Thursday stated.

Both the judges would also participate in the bench and hear the listed cases.

The President on Wednesday appointed Karnataka High Court chief justice Maheshwari and Delhi High Court judge Justice Khanna as the Supreme Court judges.

The notifications on their appointment were issued, amid questioning of the Supreme Court Collegium's decision to supersede about 30 judges in all India seniority to recommend their names for elevation.

Within days of the Collegium's recommendation of January 10, the government cleared their names in an apparent move to end the controversy.

With the fresh appointments, the number of judges in the Supreme Court rose to 28 against the sanctioned strength of 31 judges.

Justice Maheshwari, who hailed from Rajasthan, stood at serial number 21 in the combined seniority of High Court judges on an all-India basis. He was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court on September 2, 2004, and was transferred to Allahabad High Court on July 19, 2014.

He was elevated as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court on February 24, 2016, before his transfer to Karnataka High Court on February 12, 2018.

Justice Khanna stood at serial number 33 in the combined seniority of high court judges on all India basis. He was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on June 24, 2005, and since then has been functioning there in the same capacity.

The Collegium had last month reportedly decided to recommend the name of Delhi HC chief justice Rajendra Menon and Rajasthan HC chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog. However, it was suggested that with the Collegium having undergone changes with the retirement of Justice Madan B Lokur and inclusion of Justice Arun Mishra, the decision was reconsidered to recommend the names of Justices Maheshwari and Khanna for elevation to the Supreme Court.

Justice Khanna would become the Chief Justice of India for six months and two days after the retirement of Justice D Y Chandrachud on November 10, 2024.