Centre Clears Elevation of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sr Adv KV Vishwanathan to Supreme Court- Oath Tomorrow
The Central government has approved the appointment of Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra as judges of the Supreme Court. They will be sworn in as judges on May 19.
The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended their appointment on May 16, citing the need for more members from the bar to be appointed to the Supreme Court bench.
Mr Viswanathan will be the tenth lawyer to be appointed to the Supreme Court directly from the Bar. He has spent over 30 years in the legal profession and has worked on many high-profile cases.
He will also be the fourth person to become Chief Justice of India from the bar. Mr Viswanathan will serve until May 25, 2031, and will be eligible to assume Chief Justice of India’s office in August 2030.
Justice Mishra, currently the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, has also been appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court. He has previously served as Judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court and acting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court.
The Supreme Court currently has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges and is functioning with 32 judges. However, four more vacancies are expected to arise by the second week of July.