Government of India appoints 21 judges from 7 High Courts in the country, including 15 Additional Judges made permanent, and six new appointments. The aim of this step is to strengthen the judicial system and reduce the backlog of pending cases in various courts.

The Ministry of Law and Justice, under the independent charge of State Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, announced this significant development. Among the new appointees, Himachal Pradesh High Court has seen the elevation of advocates Ranjan Sharma, Bipin Chandra Negi, and judicial officer Rakesh Kainthla as Additional Judges.

Similarly, the Telangana High Court has seen the appointment of advocates LN Alishetty, Eke Jukanti, and judicial officer Smt. Sujana Kalasikam as Additional Judges.

The judges appointed to permanent positions include Justices Basant Balaji, C.K. Jayachandran, Sophie Thomas, and P.V. Gopalan Pillai Ajit Kumar from Kerala High Court, and Justices Kakheto Sema, Devashish Barua, Malashri Nandi, Marli Vankung, and Arun Dev Chaudhari from Gauhati High Court.

Chhattisgarh High Court has seen the appointment of Justice Dipak Kumar Tiwari, Bombay High Court has Justice Anil Laxman Pawar and Justice SC More, while Kolkata High Court has Justice Krishna Rao, Bibhas Ranjan De, and Ajay Kumar Mukherjee appointed as permanent judges.

The decision was based on the recommendation of the Supreme Collegium, which proposed the appointment of these additional judges in their respective High Courts on July 25.

These appointments are expected to alleviate the workload of existing judges and ensure timely dispensation of justice. Currently, there are 629 permanent judges and 152 additional judges serving in the 25 High Courts across the country. The total count of 840 permanent judges and 274 permanent and additional judges together is still lower than the sanctioned strength.