Justice Ujjal Bhuyan – former Chief Justice of Telangana High Court and Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti – former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, on Friday were sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti were administered the oath by the Chief Justice of India, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.

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The swearing-in of the two judges took place in the main hall of the Supreme Court, where besides others, all the judges of the top court were present.

With the swearing in of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti, the present strength of the top court judges has gone up to 32 (judges) as against the sanctioned strength of 34 judges. At present the top court is short of two judges.

The President Droupadi Murmu had on July 12 appointed both Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti as Supreme Court judges.

The Supreme Court collegium on July 5 had recommended their elevation to the top court.

With the swearing in of Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti, the Andhra Pradesh High court will get represented in the top court after August 2022. Andhra Pradesh is parent High Court of Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti as he hails from this High Court and was first appointed as judge of this high court.

In the order of seniority, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan will be senior to Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti and Justice Bhuyan) was administered oath first.

Justice Bhuyan will be a judge of the Supreme Court till August 2, 2029 and Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti will have a tenure till May 6, 2027.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was first appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011 and was the senior-most judge of his parent High Court. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has also served as a judge of the Bombay High Court. He was appointed the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court on June 28, 2022.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan is known for his good reputation for integrity and competence. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has dealt with a wide spectrum of cases and has acquired experience in diverse fields of law with specialisation and domain knowledge in taxation law.

Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti was appointed as a Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on April 12, 2013 and was the senior most of the Andhra Pradesh High Court – his parent High Court – which had no representation in the top court since August 2022. The former Chief Justice of India, Justice N.V. Ramana, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh High Court, had retired from the top court on August 26, 2022. Andhra Pradesh High court was the parent High Court of former Chief Justice of India, Justice N.V. Ramana.

Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti was transferred to Kerala High Court in March 2019 and was serving as its Chief Justice from` June 1, 2023.

During his long tenure as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and subsequently as judge and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti provided a value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience.

Justice Venkatanarayana Bhatti has considerable experience in various branches of law. The judgments authored by him dealing with issues in various branches of law stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence.