Bombay High Court Welcomes 14 New Judges, Strength Rises to 82
The Bombay High Court received a major boost on Tuesday as 14 new judges were sworn in as Additional Judges. The oath of office was administered by Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar at a formal ceremony in Mumbai.
With their appointment, the High Court’s working strength has increased from 68 to 82 against a sanctioned capacity of 94.
The newly appointed judges are: Siddheshwar Sundarrao Thombre, Mehroz Ashraf Khan Pathan, Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale, Nandesh Shankarrao Deshpande, Amit Satyavan Jamsandekar, Ashish Sahadev Chavan, Vaishali Nimbajirao Patil-Jadhav, Sandesh Dadasaheb Patil, Abasaheb Dharmaji Shinde, Shreeram Vinayak Shirsat, Hiten Shamrao Venegavkar, Farhan Parvez Dubash, Rajnish Ratnakar Vyas, and Raj Damodar Wakode.
The Supreme Court collegium had recommended these names on 19 August, and the Central government cleared the appointments on 27 August. They will serve as Additional Judges for two years, after which their tenure may be confirmed or discontinued based on performance reviews.
The Bombay High Court, one of the busiest courts in India, has long faced a severe shortage of judges. Until now, it had only 68 judges against the approved strength of 94. This shortage contributed to delays in hearings and mounting case backlogs.
With the fresh appointments, the strength has improved to 82, bringing some relief to litigants. However, 12 vacancies are still pending. The addition of new judges is expected to help in faster disposal of cases and better management of one of the heaviest case loads in the country.
