SC attains full strength as 2 judges take oath; top court gets first judge from Manipur
New Delhi (PTI): Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice N Kotiswar Singh on Thursday took oath of office and became the first judge to have been elevated to the Supreme Court from Manipur.
Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court R Mahadevan was also sworn in as judge of the apex court.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud administered the oath of office to both judges at a function in the apex court premises here. With the swearing-in, the top court has attained its full strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.
The Supreme Court will function with 34 judges until Justice Hima Kohli retires on September 1, 2024, followed by CJI Chandrachud, who superannuates on November 10 this year. Two posts have fallen vacant after the retirement of Justice AS Bopanna and Aniruddha Bose.
The Centre has cleared the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium on July 16.
On July 11, the five-member collegium presided over by the CJI had recommended to the Centre the names of Singh and Mahadevan for elevation to the apex court.
"His appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first judge from the state of Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court," the SC Collegium said on July 11 while recommending Justice Singh's name along with that of Justice Mahadevan.
Justice Singh was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court in October 2011. Following the formation of the Manipur High Court, he was transferred there.
In February 2023, he was appointed as chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and will demit office in February 2028 on attaining the age of 65 years.
While recommending Justice Mahadevan’s name for elevation, the collegium had noted that he belongs to a backward community from Tamil Nadu and his appointment will bring diversity to the (SC) Bench.
"The Collegium has taken due note of the fact that Justice Mahadevan ranks third in the order of presently serving judges of the Madras High Court including the judges who have been posted as chief justices outside the Madras High Court.
"At this stage, the Collegium has given precedence to the candidature of Justice Mahadevan in order to give representation to the backward community," it noted.
Justice Mahadevan was born on June 10, 1963 and will demit office in June 2028.
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Shashi Tharoor calls for regulation and taxation instead of banning online gaming
New Delhi(PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday criticised the government’s move to ban online money gaming, warning that such a step would only push the industry underground and strengthen criminal networks.
He also said he had not studied the three Constitution amendment bills seeking to provide a framework for the removal of prime ministers, Union ministers, chief ministers and state ministers detained on serious criminal charges in any detail.
“On the face of it, it is difficult to say it has any problem, but obviously if anyone does something wrong they should not be a minister anyway. I don’t know if there is any other motive,” he remarked.
Discussing the bill seeking to prohibit and regulate online gaming introduced in the Lok Sabha, he said, "I had written a very long article on the argument that by banning online gaming we are simply driving it underground, whereas it could be a useful source of revenue for the government if we legalise it, regulate it and tax it."
He added that many countries have studied the issue in detail and concluded that regulation and taxation can generate funds for social causes, while bans merely enrich “criminal mafias”.
In a post on X, Tharoor recalled that he had “gone on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia”.
“It’s a pity that the government seems to have derived no lessons from the experience of other countries that have considered this issue,” he wrote.
He added that the bill should at least have been referred to a parliamentary committee “to consider all the pros and cons before rushing it into law”.
The proposed bill prohibits online money gaming and its advertisements, prescribing imprisonment or fines, or both, for violators. It differentiates such games from eSports and online social games, while calling for their promotion.
1/2 I went on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia. https://t.co/KYi2aTxDQQ
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 20, 2025
