The Supreme Court is all set to get five new judges which will add up to its strength taking the number to 32. The three chief justices – Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol and P V Sanjay Kumar – of high courts of Rajasthan, Patna and Manipur respectively will take oath alongside two other senior high court judges.
The senior most among the five judges, whose names were officially announced by the Centre on Saturday, is Justice Pankaj Mithal whose parent cadre is the Allahabad High Court. Justice Mithal was serving as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court since October 14, last year. Born on June 17, 1961, Justice Mithal is a 1982 commerce graduate from Allahabad University. He completed his LLB in 1985 from Meerut College and enrolled as an advocate in the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh the same year.
The second senior-most judge who will take oath on Monday, is Justice Karol, whose parent HC cadre is Himachal Pradesh. He was the chief justice of the Patna High Court at the time of elevation. Born on August 23, 1961, Justice Karol was an alumnus of the prestigious St. Edward School of Shimla. Karol graduated with honours in history from Government Degree College, Shimla. He obtained his degree in law from Himachal Pradesh University.
Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, who originally belonged to the Telangana High Court, is third in the list of five judges and was heading the Manipur High Court at the time of recommendation by the Collegium on December 13 last year and subsequent clearance by the Centre. Born on August 14, 1963, he did his graduation in commerce from Nizam College, Hyderabad and secured his LL.B degree from Delhi University in 1988. He was elevated to the bench as an additional judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on August 8, 2008, and assumed charge as a permanent judge of the court on January 20, 2010.
Justice Manoj Misra, the fifth in the list, was born on June 2, 1965. He enrolled as an advocate on December 12, 1988, and was elevated as additional judge at the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011. He took oath as a permanent judge on August 6, 2013.
All five names for the judgeship in the top court were recommended by the six-member Supreme Court Collegium on December 13 last year. Out of the 27 apex court judges at present, eight are scheduled to demit their office in 2023.
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