Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Monday administered the oath of office to two new judges of the country’s top court. President Droupadi Murmu signed the authorization to appoint Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Aravind Kumar to the Supreme Court.
The new judges were inaugurated after an oath-taking ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Supreme Court. On Friday, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju took to Twitter to announce the new appointments to the apex court. Justice Bindal was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and Justice Kumar was cut off as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court before his elevation to the Supreme Court.
After the swearing-in ceremony, the strength of the Supreme Court reached its full strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, after nine months. The Supreme Court collegium recommended their names to the Center for promotion on January 31.
Born on April 16, 1961, Justice Bindal was supposed to relinquish office in April this year after attaining the age of 62, but he now has three more years to serve because of his elevation to the Supreme Court. The retirement age for High Court judges is 62, while Supreme Court judges retire at 65. Justice Kumar was born on 14 July 1962 and would be 61 years old in July 2023. Last week, five judges were sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court after their elevation.
