Supreme Court to have full bench strength of 34 judges after 2 years, for one day

The Supreme Court on Monday will have a full bench strength of 34 judges after two years, but for one day.

The Supreme Court of India will have a full bench strength of 34 judges on Monday, May 9. The top court will have all sanctioned seats filled after more than two years. However, on Tuesday, May 10, one judge is set to retire.

With the swearing-in ceremony of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and JB Pardiwala at 10:30 am on May 9, the SC will have a full bench strength. Justice Dhulia will join the apex court after a stint as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, while Justice Pardiwala is an incumbent judge in the Gujarat High Court.

The appointments were cleared by the Center on Saturday, within 72 hours of the recommendation being sent by the SC collegium on May 5.

However, Justice Vineet Saran is set to retire on May 10, followed by Justice L Nageswara Rao in June, AM Khanwilkar in July, and incumbent CJI NV Ramana retiring on August 26.

Apart from this, Justice Indira Banerjee is scheduled to retire in September, followed by Justice Hemant Gupta in October. Justice UU Lalit, who is in line to be the next CJI, will retire on November 8.

It means that the Supreme Court will have one vacancy every month till November, with a total of seven judges scheduled to retire this year.

Meanwhile, the collegium sent the recommendation on May 4 for the appointment of judges in Delhi, Patna and Andhra Pradesh High Courts which are yet to be cleared by the Center.