Mumbai: Centre Notifies Appointment Of 5 Advocates As Additional Judges Of Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Central Government on Wednesday issued a notification appointing five advocates as additional judges of the Bombay High Court.

The names include Nivedita Mehta, Prafulla Khubalkar, Ashwin Bhobe, Rohit Joshi, and Advait Sethna.

“In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following advocates as additional judges of the Bombay High Court,” read the post on X by the Minister of State (MoS), Law and Justice (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal.

SC Collegium Recommends Elevation Of 5 Lawyers

In September, the Supreme Court Collegium of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bhushan Gavai recommended the elevation of the five lawyers.

The SC Collegium recommended their names following a January 19, 2024 recommendation by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues.

The Bombay HC is currently functioning with 64 judges: 54 permanent judges and 10 additional judges. However, the sanctioned strength of the HC, the second largest in the country after the Allahabad High Court, is 94.

Once the five lawyers take oath as judges, the total strength of the HC is likely to go up to 69.

The SC collegium, through another notification issued on September 24, had also recommended the elevation of four more lawyers as additional judges of the Bombay High Court.