Govt notifies appointments of PK Mishra, KV Viswanathan as SC judges

The two will be sworn in as Supreme Court judges at 10.30 am on May 19

The Central government on May 18 notified the appointments of Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice PK Mishra and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan as judges of the Supreme Court.

They will be sworn in as judges at 10.30 am on May 19.

The notification comes just two days after the SC collegium led by CJI DY Chandrachud recommended their names for judgeship.

Following the retirement of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and MR Shah on May 14 and 15, respectively, two posts fell vacant in the Supreme Court. The newly constituted collegium met on May 16, after the retirement of Shah, to fill up the vacancies. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who is next in line to be the CJI, is now a full-time member of the collegium.

On Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, the resolution mentions that during his tenure of nearly 12 years as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, he acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. Mishra's judgments cover wide-ranging issues pertaining to law and justice.

According to the resolution, "Besides according representation to the State of Chhattisgarh, the appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra will provide a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience. Justice Mishra is a judge with integrity."

On KV Viswanathan, the resolution mentions that he has a sound understanding of law and is known in the legal fraternity for his integrity and as an upright senior member of the Bar.

As per the practice of the Supreme Court, Viswanathan will become the Chief Justice of India from August 2030 to May 2031 . Vishwanathan, a native of Coimbatore, will be the fourth member of the bar who will be CJI after Justice SM Sikri, UU Lalit and PS Narasimha.