Justice Joseph takes oath as third Supreme Court judge
New Delhi, Aug 7 : Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice Vineet Saran and Justice K.M. Joseph on Tuesday were sworn in as Supreme Court judges in the same order of seniority as notified by the government, unfazed by the row over placing Justice Joseph as the junior-most among them.
The three were administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Dipak Misra at a function in the apex court.
On Monday, senior judges of the court met Chief Justice Misra to convey their dissatisfaction over the government's decision to place Justice Joseph in the third place for the swearing in.
They maintained that he should be the senior among the three as his name was the first to be recommended for the top court and was re-recommended after the government had raised objections.
Justice Joseph apparently had ruffled the feathers of those in the establishment with his judgement in the Uttarakhand High Court in which he had set aside imposition of President's rule in the state in 2016. The Supreme Court had upheld the judgement.
Government sources, however, maintained that the seniority of judges is based on an all-India basis and not by the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium.
Justice Joseph was recommended for elevation way back on January 10. His recommendation was reiterated on July 17 after the government had returned it for reconsideration by the Supreme Court collegium.
With three new judges joining, the strength of the top court judges is now 28 as against the sanctioned strength of 31.
It is for the first time that the Supreme Court has three sitting women judges -- Justice R. Banumathi, Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice Indira Banerjee.
Justice Banerjee is the seventh woman judge of the Supreme Court, the first being Justice Fatima Beevi, followed by Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Ranjana Desai, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Indu Malhotra.
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Over 1,300 posts vacant in IAS, 586 in IPS: Centre in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, Dec 13: There are 1,316 and 586 vacant posts of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.
Of the total sanctioned strength of 6,858 IAS, there were 5,542 officers in-position, as on January 1, 2024, he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
There were 4,469 IPS officers working against their sanctioned strength of 5,055, said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.
Of the 1,316 vacant posts of IAS, 794 were meant for direct recruit and 522 were promotion posts, he said.
Of the 586 vacant IPS posts, 209 were for direct recruit and 377 were promotion posts, the minister said.
There are 2,151 Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers in-position against their sanctioned strength of 3,193, Singh said.
Of the 1,042 vacant IFS posts, 503 were for direct recruit and 539 promotion posts, he added.
The IAS, IPS and IFS officers are selected through the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission annually.
The minister, in his detailed reply, also shared details of appointments made to IAS, IPS and IFS from General, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) during the last five years.
During the 2022 civil services examination (CSE) year, 75 General, 45 OBC, 29 SC and 13 ST appointments were made in the IAS. Similarly, 83 General, 53 OBC, 31 SC and 13 ST were appointed in the IPS during the same period.
A total of 43 General, 51 OBC, 22 SC and 11 ST appointments were made in the IFS during CSE 2024, according to the data shared by the minister.
