New Delhi: In a significant move aimed at strengthening the judiciary and addressing vacancies across High Courts, the Central Government has notified the appointment of 30 advocates and judicial officers as Judges and Additional Judges across four High Courts.
The appointments cover the Madras, Calcutta, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh High Courts and were made by the President of India in exercise of constitutional powers and in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments on X, stating that the President had approved the appointments of advocates and judicial officers as Judges and Additional Judges in the High Courts.
The Madras High Court received the highest number of appointments with 15, followed by the Calcutta High Court with eight, the Karnataka High Court with six and the Madhya Pradesh High Court with one.
Madras High Court Gets 15 New Judges
The Madras High Court has received the largest batch of appointments, with 15 advocates and judicial officers being elevated to the Bench.
The notification includes six permanent Judges and nine Additional Judges.
Six Appointed as Permanent Judges
The following advocates have been appointed as permanent Judges of the Madras High Court:
- Govindarajan Krishnaswamy – Advocate
- Rajnish Pathiyil – Advocate
- Ramesh Natarajan – Advocate
- G.K. Muthukumaar – Advocate
- Ramakrishnan Rajesh Vivekananthan – Advocate
- Raveekumar Sankaranarayanan – Advocate
Their appointment as permanent Judges strengthens the regular judicial strength of the Madras High Court.
Nine Appointed as Additional Judges
Nine advocates and judicial officers have also been appointed as Additional Judges of the Madras High Court.
They are:
- Dilip Kumar Nagarajan – Advocate
- Ellappan Manoharan – Advocate
- Dr. P. Murugan – Judicial Officer
- M.D. Sumathi – Judicial Officer
- S. Alli – Judicial Officer
- C. Thirumagal – Judicial Officer
- Shanmugam Karthikeyan – Judicial Officer
- Murugesan Baluchamy – Judicial Officer
- N. Gunasekaran – Judicial Officer
The appointments bring together members of the Bar as well as experienced judicial officers.
Calcutta High Court Gets Eight Additional Judges
The Calcutta High Court has received eight appointments, with all eight being appointed as Additional Judges.
The newly appointed Additional Judges are:
- Aryak Dutt – Advocate
- Atarup Banerjee – Advocate
- Sandip Kumar De – Advocate
- Partha Pratim Roy – Advocate
- Sudip Deb – Advocate
- Anuj Singh – Advocate
- Arjun Ray Mukherjee – Advocate
- Rishad Medora – Advocate
The appointments add eight legal practitioners to the High Court Bench and are expected to contribute to strengthening judicial capacity.
Six Advocates Elevated as Additional Judges in Karnataka HC
The Karnataka High Court has received six new Additional Judges through the latest notification.
All six appointees are advocates:
- Raghavendra Seetharam Srivatsa
- Hema Kulkarni
- Subramanya Rangarao
- Vivekananda Thadagavadi Prakash
- Pramod Bakkeswara
- Shanthi Bhushan Hombe Gowda
Their elevation marks the appointment of six new members to the Karnataka High Court Bench in the Additional Judge category.
Madhya Pradesh High Court Gets One Additional Judge
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has received one appointment under the latest notification.
Amit Lahoti, an advocate, has been appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
His appointment takes the overall number of judicial appointments covered by the latest notification to 30.
30 Appointments Across Four High Courts
The latest appointments are distributed across the four High Courts as follows:
- Madras High Court: 15 appointments — six permanent Judges and nine Additional Judges
- Calcutta High Court: Eight Additional Judges
- Karnataka High Court: Six Additional Judges
- Madhya Pradesh High Court: One Additional Judge
Of the 30 appointments, the Madras High Court is the only one in this notification to receive appointments to the permanent Judge category, with six advocates being elevated as permanent Judges.
The remaining appointments are in the Additional Judge category.
President Makes Appointments in Consultation With CJI
The appointments have been formally notified by the Central Government after being made by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, as provided under the Constitution.
The notification follows the judicial appointment process through which eligible advocates and judicial officers are considered for elevation to High Court Benches.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal shared the development publicly on Friday, highlighting the constitutional basis of the appointments.
Push to Strengthen High Court Benches
The latest round of appointments comes as High Courts across the country continue to deal with significant caseloads and judicial vacancies.
Increasing the number of serving Judges and Additional Judges is aimed at strengthening the capacity of High Courts to hear and dispose of cases.
The appointment of experienced advocates and judicial officers also brings a combination of legal expertise and judicial experience to the Benches.
With 30 appointments across four High Courts, the latest notification represents a significant addition to judicial strength, particularly for the Madras, Calcutta and Karnataka High Courts.
15 From Madras, 8 From Calcutta, 6 From Karnataka, 1 From MP
The latest notification significantly expands the judicial strength of four High Courts.
The Madras High Court leads with 15 appointments, including six permanent Judges and nine Additional Judges. The Calcutta High Court follows with eight Additional Judges, while the Karnataka High Court receives six Additional Judges. The Madhya Pradesh High Court gets one Additional Judge.
The appointments are expected to strengthen the functioning of the respective High Courts and contribute to more effective handling of pending and incoming litigation.
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