Centre notifies appointment of Delhi HC Chief Justice Manmohan as SC judge

The Centre on Tuesday notified the appointment of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Manmohan as a judge of the Supreme Court, taking its strength to 33 judges against the sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Justice Manmohan, Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi, to be a judge of the Supreme Court, with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office,” the Department of Justice notification read.

Justice Manmohan is expected to take oath as a Supreme Court judge in the next couple of days, sources said.

Union Minister of Law and Justice (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal took to X to announce it.

The five-judge Supreme Court Collegium led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna had on November 28 unanimously recommended Justice Manmohan’s elevation to the top court.

The other four judges in the Collegium were Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Abhay S Oka.

He was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Delhi on March 13, 2008, and was made permanent on December 17, 2009. He has been functioning as the Chief Justice of that High Court since September 29, 2024. Justice Manmohan stands at serial no. 2 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court judges and he is the senior-most judge in the High Court of Delhi.

While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that, at present, the SC Bench is represented by only one judge from the Delhi High Court.

Born on December 17, 1962, he obtained an LLB degree from Delhi’s Campus Law Centre of the Delhi University in 1987 and got enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi the same year. He practised law before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and was designated as a ‘Senior Advocate’ by the Delhi High Court in 2003.