Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and SV Bhatti appointed to Supreme Court

Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges (PTI file image)

Two new judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court, as the government has cleared the Collegium's recommendation to elevate Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and SV Bhatti.

Their appointments have been confirmed by President Droupadi Murmu, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a tweet on July 12.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President, after consultation with the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following 02 Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court of India," Meghwal tweeted.

Justice Bhuyan was currently the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, whereas, Justice Bhatti was presently the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.

In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President, after consultation with the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following 02 Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court of India pic.twitter.com/RYhHpEYWHZ

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— Arjun Ram Meghwal (@arjunrammeghwal) July 12, 2023

Their appointments received the Centre's nod within a week of the recommendation made by the Collegium -- the panel of SC judges led by the Chief Justice of India which recommends to the government the names of the high court judges who are to be elevated to the apex judicial body.

With the appointment of Justices Bhuyan and Bhatti, the strength of Supreme Court has increased to 32, as against the sanctioned strength of 34.

This is, notably, the 11th appointment to the top court made this year. The previous round of appointments were given the nod in May, when Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan were elevated to the SC.

This is also the first set of appointments to be cleared after the formation of the new Collegium, that includes Justices Surya Kant and BR Gavai.