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Justices Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, K M Joseph sworn in as SC judges
Justices Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran and K M Joseph were today sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court in the order of seniority notified by the Centre.
New Delhi: Justices Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran and K M Joseph were today sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court in the order of seniority notified by the Centre.
The swearing-in ceremony started at 10.30 am in the chief justice of India's courtroom with Justice Banerjee the first to take oath followed by Justice Saran and then Justice Joseph.
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The oath of office and secrecy was administered to the three judges by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in a packed courtroom in the presence of all judges, law officers and advocates.
With the appointment of the three judges, the total strength of the judges in the apex court has gone up to 25 against the sanctioned strength of 31. While Justice Banerjee was the chief justice of Madras High Court, Justice Saran and Joseph were chief justices of the high courts in Odisha and Uttarakhand respectively.
Justice Joseph took oath as an apex court judge amid a row with the Centre over his seniority being lowered on his elevation.
The Centre yesterday said it went purely by the "time tested" principle of high court seniority list. It came out with a notification on the appointment of the three judges to the apex court last Friday, putting at third position the seniority of Justice Joseph.
Judges, including members of the collegium comprising Justices M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri, yesterday met Chief Justice Misra to raise their concerns on the seniority issue concerning Justice Joseph.
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The judges were reported to be of the view that there was need to sit together and ponder over the issue. Court sources yesterday said nothing much could be done at this stage and the concerns raised by some of the judges would be discussed after the three judges were sworn in today.
Except for Justice Ranjan Gogoi, a member of the apex court collegium who was on leave, others had "informally" deliberated on the Centre's decision to lower the seniority of Justice Joseph, the sources said. However, it was decided that the oath-taking ceremony should take place. The CJI, who heads the collegium, assured the judges that he would consult Justice Gogoi who is the senior most after him and take up the issue with the Centre, the sources said. (PTI)