New Delhi: Justice Justice K Vinod Chandran was on Thursday (January 16) sworn in as the judge of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on administered the oath of office to Justice Chandran.
With Justice Chandran taking oath as a judge of the top court, the working strength of the apex court rose to 33, which is one short of the total sanctioned strength of the apex court, including the CJI.
Centre on January 14 cleared Justice Chandran’s name
The Centre had on January 14 cleared the proposal of the Supreme Court collegium to appoint Patna High Court Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran as a top court judge.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced the elevation of Justice Chandran to the apex court.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Krishnan Vinod Chandran, Chief Justice, Patna High Court as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India,” Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice posted on social media X.
Justice Chandran was appointed Kerala High Court judge in 2011
Justice Chandran was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Kerala on November 8, 2011 and was elevated as the chief justice of the Patna High Court on March 29, 2023 and was functioning as the Patna High Court Chief Justice before his elevation to the apex court.
What did the collegium say?
“He has served as a Judge of the High Court for more than 11 years and as a Chief Justice of a big High Court for more than a year. During his long tenure as a Judge and Chief Justice of the High Court, Mr. Justice Chandran has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. Mr. Justice Chandran stands at Sl. No. 13 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges. In the seniority of Judges hailing from the High Court of Kerala, Mr. Justice K. Vinod Chandran stands at Sl. No. 1,” collegium had said.
The collegium further had taken into consideration the fact that there is no representation on the bench of the top court from the Kerala High Court.
“The Collegium has, therefore, unanimously recommended that Mr. Justice K. Vinod Chandran be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India,” collegium said.
