SC gets 9 new judges, B V Nagarathna could be first woman CJI in 2027
New Delhi, Aug 26: Nine new judges, including three women, were on Thursday appointed to the Supreme Court, with Justice B V Nagarathna in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in September 2027.
President Ram Nath Kovind signed their warrants of appointment.
With a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, the Supreme Court as of now has 10 vacancies. Once the new judges take oath in the coming days, the top court will have only one vacancy.
Separate formal notifications by the law ministry announcing their appointments were issued in the afternoon.
In a first, the Supreme Court Collegium had last week recommended for appointment to the apex court three women judges. Besides Justice Nagarathna, the third senior-most judge of the Karnataka High Court, the other women judges who have been appointed to the apex court are Justice Hima Kohli, the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, and Justice Bela M Trivedi, the fifth senior-most judge of the Gujarat High Court.
Justice Kohli was to retire on September 1 on attaining the age of 62.
While high court judges retire at the age of 62, the retirement age of Supreme Court judges is 65.
Besides them, Justice C T Ravikumar of the Kerala High Court and Justice M M Sundresh of the Madras High Court have also been appointed to the top court.
Senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha has became the sixth lawyer to be elevated to the apex court bench directly from the Bar.
The chief justices of different high courts who have made it to the Supreme Court are Abhay Shreeniwas Oka (Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court), Vikram Nath (Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court) and Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari (Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court).
Justice Nagarathna, born on October 30, 1962, is the daughter of former CJI E S Venkataramiah.
She enrolled as an advocate on October 28,1987 at Bangalore and practised in the fields pertaining to the Constitution, commerce, insurance and service.
She was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Karnataka on February 18, 2008 and became a permanent Judge on February 17, 2010.
She will have a tenure as an apex court judge till October 29, 2027 and may have a tenure of over one month as the first woman CJI after September 23, 2027.
Born on September 2, 1959 in Delhi, Justice Kohli did her LLB from the Campus Law Centre in Delhi University and was the standing counsel and legal advisor of the New Delhi Municipal Council in the High Court of Delhi from 1999-2004.
She was appointed as an additional judge of the High Court of Delhi on May 29, 2006 and took oath as a permanent judge on August 29, 2007 and later became the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on January 7, 2021.
Justice Trivedi, born on June 10, 1960, is the judge of the Gujarat High Court since February 9, 2016 and belongs to the judicial service category.
Besides Fathima Beevi, who became an apex court judge on October 6, 1989, seven more women judges have been appointed till now. They are justices Sujata Vasant Manohar, Ruma Pal, Gyan Sudha Mishra, Ranjana Desai, R Bhanumathi, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee.
Justice Banerjee would demit office on September 23 next year.
Judicial appointments in the Supreme Court have remained frozen since September 2019. The first of the 10 vacancies in the Supreme Court arose following the retirement of Ranjan Gogoi in November 2019 as the chief justice of India.
The latest vacancy was created following the retirement of Justice Navin Sinha on August 18.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UP: Govt hospital staff booked for sexually assaulting woman in pretext of ultrasound test
Gorakhpur (PTI): A hospital employee was booked for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in the pretext of an ultrasound test here in the district women's hospital, police said on Saturday.
According to the complaint, the woman, a resident of the Gulriha area, visited the district women's hospital on Thursday morning for an ultrasound test.
She was directed to a room, where Abhimanyu Gupta was conducting ultrasounds. When her turn came, the accused allegedly stared at her and told her to remove all her clothes, claiming it was necessary for the test and that a massage would also be required, she said.
ALSO READ: UP: Girl kidnapped, raped multiple times over 25 days; accused held
The woman alleged that once she complied, the accused began making obscene advances and tried to force himself on her. When she screamed, he allegedly gagged her, abused her and threatened to kill her before pushing her out of the room.
She said her complaints within the hospital went unheard, forcing her to approach the police.
Taking cognisance of the complaint, the hospital administration constituted a three-member inquiry committee, officials said.
Senior consultant (paediatrics) Dr Jay Kumar said, "The woman has levelled serious allegations against a staff member. Senior officials have been informed, and a departmental inquiry is underway. Strict action will be taken if the charges are proved."
Kotwali Station House Officer Chatrapal Singh said a case has been registered, and efforts are on to nab the accused.
