The Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and the Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan were sworn-in as Supreme Court judges.
It has been recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium that their elevation on May 16, 2023 and within two days the Central Government has notified their appointments. Thus, the Supreme Court with their appointment is back to its full strength of 34 judges.
Therefore, with regards to the recent retirement of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari last week i.e., Sunday, May 12, 2023 and the Justice MR Shah i.e., Monday 15, 2023. However, the current strength of the Supreme Court has fallen to 32 against a sanctioned strength of 34, wherein it includes the chief justice and 33 puisne judges and in the coming months four judges are set to retire, wherein creating the additional vacancies.
The bench of KV Viswanathan, the tenth lawyer who has directly been appointed from the Bar to the Supreme Court bench, being in the line to be the Chief Justice of India from August 12, 2030 till May 25, 2031. Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra’s parent High Court being the Chhattisgarh High Court and he was being appointed on October 13, 2021 as the Chief Justice Of Andhra Pradesh. Thus, while recommending the name of him, it has been noted by the Supreme Court Collegium that there is no representation for the Chhattisgarh High Court in the Supreme Court. It has been stated by the Supreme Court resolution that the bench of Justice Mishra during his tenure of nearly twelve years as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh observed and has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. Therefore, the appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra will provide a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience.