New Delhi/Kolkata: The President on Monday appointed Calcutta HC Justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Bagchi is scheduled to become the Chief Justice of India on May 26, 2031, the second from the HC to rise to the top post in 40 years. He is likely to take oath on March 17.
Justice Bagchi will be the fifth Calcutta High Court judge, who did not serve as any HC chief justice, to be elevated to the Supreme Court directly post-Independence. Unlike his predecessors, Justice Bagchi's tenure in the SC until Oct 2, 2031, puts him in line for the post of Chief Justice of India.
On Monday, in a post on X, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced: "In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Judge of the Calcutta High Court, to be a Judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office."
Despite the appointment process getting completed swiftly by the govt, which normally takes months for appointment of HC judges, Justice Bagchi would be able to take oath on March 17, when the court resumes business after the week-long break for Holi festivities.
After the appointment, CM Banerjee posted on X: "Congratulations to Shri Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Hon'ble Judge of the Calcutta High Court, for being appointed today by the Hon'ble President of India as an Hon'ble Judge of the Supreme Court of India. The appointment makes us proud. Best wishes to Justice Bagchi for a glorious innings ahead."
Since Independence, only four Calcutta HC judges have been elevated to the SC directly without serving as HC chief justices so far. The first was Justice Bankim Chandra Ray, who was made a SC judge in 1985. The second was Justice Murari Mohan Dutt, who was made a SC judge the next year, in 1986. Justice Suhas C Sen was appointed in SC in 1994. The last on this list was Justice Ruma Pal, who was made a SC judge on the day the Supreme Court marked its golden jubilee on Jan 28, 2000. But none of them could become the CJI.
Prior to Justice Bagchi assuming the top post in the judiciary, Justice Altamas Kabir was the last one from the Calcutta HC to have gone on to become the CJI. Justice Kabir, who was appointed as judge of the SC on Sept 9, 2005, became the CJI on Sept 29, 2012, and retired on July 19, 2013, a tenure of nearly 10 months. Before Justice Kabir, it was Justice Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who had become the CJI on Dec 18, 1989, but died on Sept 25, 1990.
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