Supreme Court of India: In a hectic week, that saw two Judges- Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice M.R Shah retiring, the Supreme Court of India inducted two new Judges, as Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sr. Advocate K.V. Viswanathan, took their oath of office administered by Chief Justice of India, Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud today.
The names of Justice Mishra and Justice Viswanathan were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium on 16-05-2023 and in what can be considered as a record, the recommendations were approved by the President within two days. On 18-05-2023, the Law Ministry notified their appointments1.
While the retirements of Justices Maheshwari and Shah had brought down the Judges’ strength to 32, with the new inductions today, Supreme Court Judges’ strength once again has reached 34. However, the month of June will see the retirement of Justice K.M. Joseph, Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice V. Ramasubramanian.
Know Thy New Supreme Court Judges2
Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra
Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on 10-12-2009 and as Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court 13-10-2021. He has served as a Judge of the High Court for over thirteen years and ranks at serial number 21 in the All-India Seniority List of Judges of the High Courts.
During his tenure of nearly twelve years as a Judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Justice Mishra has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. His judgments cover wide ranging issues pertaining to law and justice.
Justice K.V. Viswanathan
K.V. Viswanathan completed his five-year integrated law degree from Coimbatore Law College, Bharathiyar University and enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988. After practising before the Supreme Court for over two decades, he was designated as a Senior Advocate in 2009.
Justice K.V. Viswanathan has appeared in a wide range of cases on diverse subjects including Constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law, the law of Insolvency, and Arbitration. His stature as an eminent member of the Bar has been recognised by the Supreme Court in numerous cases where he was appointed to assist the Court as amicus curiae.
Furthermore, on the retirement of Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala on 11-08-2030, Justice Viswanathan would be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India till his retirement on 25-05-2031.
1. Order of appointment of Shri K.V. Viswanathan, Sr. Advocate as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India (18.05.2023) | Department of Justice | India (doj.gov.in); Order of appointment of Shri Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, CJ of Andhra Pradesh High Court as a Judge of Supreme Court of India (18.05.2023) | Department of Justice | India (doj.gov.in)
