Kotiswar Singh, Mahadevan take oath as Supreme Court judges; top court attains full strength

Chief Justice Chandrachud swears in two new Supreme Court judges, filling vacancies and restoring full strength after three months.

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud administered the oath of office to two new Supreme Court judges, Justices N. Kotiswar Singh and R. Mahadevan, on Thursday, July 18, 2024.

The new entrants returned the court to its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges after a gap of nearly three months.

The two new judges fill the vacancies left in the court with the retirement of Justices Aniruddha Bose, who retired in April l, and Justice A.S. Bopanna in May, just before the commencement of the summer holidays.

The new appointments are first after the court reopened.

The five-member Supreme Court Collegium had proposed their names on July 11. The government had cleared the appointments within a week, on July 16.

Justice Singh is the first Supreme Court judge from Manipur. He was serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He was due to retire on February 28, 2025.

Mr Justice N. Kotiswar Singh originally hails from Manipur… His (Justice Singh) appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first Judge from the State of Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court,” the Collegium had highlighted in its resolution.