The Supreme Court’s newest judges, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior attorney KV Viswanathan, took their oaths of office on Friday.
They took the oath of office from Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. The Centre cleared the names of Chief Justice Mishra and Viswanathan of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended their elevation to the position of judges of the high court on May 16. The decision to recommend Justices Mishra and Viswanathan for appointment as judges of the supreme court was made by the Collegium, which was presided over by Chief Justice Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, and Sanjiv Khanna.
Viswanathan, who was born on May 26, 1966, would hold the position of Supreme Court judge from the day he was appointed until May 25, 2031.
Viswanathan would be next in line to become Chief Justice of India after Justice JB Pardiwala retires on August 11, 2030, and hold the position until his retirement on May 25, 2031.Viswanathan is now the tenth name on the list of solicitors who have been appointed directly from the Bar to the Supreme Court. He will follow Justices SM Sikri, UU Lalit, and PS Narasimha as the fourth such individual to hold the position of Chief Justice of India.
In 1988, Viswanathan registered in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu after completing the five-year integrated legal programme at Coimbatore legal College, Bharathiyar University. He has been representing clients before the Supreme Court for more than 20 years. In 2009, he received the designation of senior advocate. Viswanathan, a former Additional Solicitor General, has appeared in a wide range of cases on diverse subjects including constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law, the law of insolvency, and arbitration. His stature as an eminent member of the Bar has been recognised by the Supreme Court in numerous cases where he was appointed to assist the court as amicus curiae.
Justice Mishra was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on December 10, 2009. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on October 13, 2021.
In its resolution, the Collegium noted that there is no representation of the High Court of Chhattisgarh in the present composition of the Supreme Court of India.
Justice Mishra has served as a judge of the High Court for over thirteen years and ranks at serial number 21 in the All-India Seniority List of judges of the High Courts, the resolution stated. The Supreme Court was operating with 32 judges when it was sanctioned to have 34. The Supreme Court will now be fully staffed. By the second week of July, there will be four openings.