The Union government on Friday notified the appointment of two more judges to the Supreme Court. Once they take oath, the court will function at its full strength of 34 judges.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote in a tweet on Friday morning that President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Aravind Kumar as judges of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Collegium, while recommending their names on January 31, had said that its resolution with respect to Justice Bindal was unanimous. However, it said that Justice KM Joseph of the collegium had expressed reservations about the appointment of Justice Kumar on the ground that his name could have been considered at a later stage.
The resolution said that the judicial appointment body took into consideration the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court is not adequately represented on the Supreme Court bench. Justice Bindal was initially appointed as a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In recent months, the Union government and Supreme Court have been engaged in a tussle over appointments to the higher judiciary.
On November 11, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Union law secretary asking the Centre to explain the delay in the appointment of judges.
The judges had noted that on several occasions the government did not make judicial appointments, despite the collegium reiterating them. The court had questioned whether the government’s inaction was meant to compel those considered for the judges’ posts to withdraw their consent.
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