A government known for its tardiness in appointing judges has cleared four new judges for the Supreme Court in one day, the speed leaving Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi “shocked” and “overawed”.

Justices Hemant Gupta, R. Subhas Reddy, M.R. Shah and Ajay Rastogi were formally sworn in on Friday morning, taking the top court’s strength to 29 against the sanctioned 31.

The apex court collegium had sent the recommendations on Wednesday morning and the Centre cleared them on Thursday evening. The President too issued the warrant of appointment on Thursday evening.

Justice Gogoi, speaking in a lighter vein during an informal conversation at the apex court press lounge, admitted that the swift approvals had “shocked” and “overawed” him.

For the past three years, the Narendra Modi government had been locked in constant confrontation with the judiciary because of its long delays in clearing the appointments and transfers of judges to the high courts and the Supreme Court.

The piling vacancies had prompted several tearful appeals and outbursts in 2016 from then Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, who had asked the government to “close down the courts” in frustration.

Justice Gogoi was accompanied at the media interaction by Justice S.A. Bobde, who is to become the Chief Justice on November 18 next year.

Judge vacancies

Justice Gogoi on Friday said he would deal at the administrative level with the Centre’s delay in clearing the appointments of about three dozen high court judges recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.

He therefore desisted from issuing any notice to the government on a public interest plea moved by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation seeking a directive to the Centre to immediately appoint judges whose candidatures have been reiterated by the collegium.

During the brief hearing, Justice Gogoi told the NGO’s counsel, senior advocate Dushayant Dave, that the actual number of pending high court appointments was three times the figure — 13 — mentioned in the petition.

He, however, said he would like to deal with the matter at the administrative level rather than the judicial level and would therefore not pass the directions sought.

Justice Gogoi, sitting on a bench with Justices K.M. Joseph and Hemant Gupta, listed the NGO’s plea for further hearing after eight weeks.

Convention says the government can return a recommendation to the collegium, made up of the Chief Justice and the four other senior-most judges, for reconsideration only once and is bound to clear any appointment that has been reiterated.

But for the past three years, the Narendra Modi government has been locked in constant confrontation with the judiciary because of its long delays in clearing the appointments and transfers of judges to the high courts and the Supreme Court.