Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice N Kotiswar Singh on Thursday took oath of office and became the first judge to have been elevated to the Supreme Court from Manipur.

Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court R Mahadevan was also sworn in as judge of the apex court.

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud administered the oath of office to both judges at a function in the apex court premises here. With the swearing-in, the top court has attained its full strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.

The Supreme Court will function with 34 judges until Justice Hima Kohli retires on September 1, 2024, followed by CJI Chandrachud, who superannuates on November 10 this year. Two posts have fallen vacant after the retirement of Justice AS Bopanna and Aniruddha Bose.

The Centre has cleared the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium on July 16.

On July 11, the five-member collegium presided over by the CJI had recommended to the Centre the names of Singh and Mahadevan for elevation to the apex court.

"His appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court will provide representation to the North-East, and in particular he will be the first judge from the state of Manipur to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court," the SC Collegium said on July 11 while recommending Justice Singh's name along with that of Justice Mahadevan.

Justice Singh was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court in October 2011. Following the formation of the Manipur High Court, he was transferred there.

In February 2023, he was appointed as chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and will demit office in February 2028 on attaining the age of 65 years.

While recommending Justice Mahadevan’s name for elevation, the collegium had noted that he belongs to a backward community from Tamil Nadu and his appointment will bring diversity to the (SC) Bench.

"The Collegium has taken due note of the fact that Justice Mahadevan ranks third in the order of presently serving judges of the Madras High Court including the judges who have been posted as chief justices outside the Madras High Court.

"At this stage, the Collegium has given precedence to the candidature of Justice Mahadevan in order to give representation to the backward community," it noted.

Justice Mahadevan was born on June 10, 1963 and will demit office in June 2028.

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