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

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, July 18

Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice R Mahadevan on Thursday took oath as Supreme Court judges.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud administered the oath of office to the two newly-appointed judges on Thursday morning. The brief ceremony held at Court No. 1 of the Supreme Court was attended by judges and lawyers.

With the two more judges assuming charge of their respective office, the Supreme Court has regained its full strength of 34 judges, including the CJI.

The Centre had on Tuesday notified their appointments, five days after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the elevation to the top court.

Justice Singh, who has been the Chief Justice of the High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh since February 2023, is the first judge from Manipur to be elevated to the Supreme Court. “His (Justice Singh’s) appointment will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first judge from Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the SC,” the Collegium had said.

Before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Mahadevan was the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. While recommending his elevation, the Collegium had noted he belonged to a backward community from Tamil Nadu and his appointment would bring diversity to the Bench.