Justices Aradhe, Pancholi take oath, SC attains full strength

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday attained its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges as CJI BR Gavai administered oath of office to Justices Alok Aradhe and Vipul Manubhai Pancholi as SC judges in the presence of all sitting SC judges in the apex court’s auditorium.Both the judges took oath in the name of God, and their swearing-in ceremony was keenly watched by lawyers who had packed the auditorium. The place where the judges took oath and where Justice B V Nagarathna was seated was separated by Justice Vikram Nath, who sported a smile through the oath ceremony.Justice Nagarathna, a member of the five-judge SC collegium, who had strongly opposed the CJI’s proposal to recommend Justice Pancholi’s appointment as an SC judge through a severely critical two-page dissent note, maintained a straight face through the brief oath taking of the new judges. She had said Justice Pancholi’s elevation would be counter-productive to justice and would put the credibility of the collegium at stake.Despite the dissent by Justice Nagarathna, who would be CJI for 37 days in Sep-Oct 2027, the other four members of the collegium had on Aug 25 recommended appointment of Justice Pancholi, who would be CJI for nearly one year and eight months beginning Oct 3, 2031. The Centre operationalised the recommendation within two days, and the President issued the warrants of appointments. Justice Pancholi will be the third judge in SC from Gujarat high court . The other two are Justices J B Pardiwala and N V Anjaria. Justice Pardiwala would have a two year and three months tenure as CJI from May 3, 2028 till Aug 11, 2030. In a span of five years, starting from May 2028, two judges from Gujarat HC would be CJIs and enjoy a tenure of more than four years. The last one from Gujarat HC to become CJI was Justice A M Ahmadi from Oct 25, 1994 till March 3, 1997.Justices Y V Chandrachud and D Y Chandrachud were the first father-son duo to be CJIs. Justices E S Venkataramiah and Nagarathna would be the first father-daughter duo to hold the top post in the judiciary. The Chandrachuds between them held the CJI post for more than nine and half years. Nagarathna’s father Justice Venkataramiah was CJI for six months and Justice Nagarathna will have a shorter tenure.