Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan was on Tuesday sworn in as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court.
Sundaresan was appointed as the additional judge on November 23 by the central government, 11 months after his name was recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.
Bombay HC Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya administered the oath to Sundaresan on Tuesday.
In October 2021, the Bombay High Court collegium recommended Sundaresan’s name for elevation as a judge. Subsequently, the Supreme Court collegium also recommended his name in February 2022.
However, in November 2022, the central government sought reconsideration of Sundaresan’s candidature saying “he has aired his views in the social media on several matters which are the subject matter of consideration before the courts.”
The Supreme Court collegium, however, reiterated its recommendation to elevate Sundaresan as a judge in January this year, noting the views made on social media by the candidate (Sundaresan) do not furnish any foundation to infer that he was biased.
On November 23, the central government cleared his name and appointed him as the additional judge.
At present, the Bombay High Court functions with 68 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 94.
