In a recent move aimed at bolstering the judiciary’s functioning, the Central Government has approved the appointment of five lawyers as additional judges of the Bombay High Court. These appointments are for a tenure of two years. Union Minister of State for Law, Arjun Ram Meghwal, announced the new appointments on Wednesday via his official Twitter account, with further details available on the Law Ministry’s website.
The five appointed advocates are Nivedita Prakash Mehta, Prafulla Surendrakumar Khubalkar, Ashwin Damodar Bhobe, Rohit Wasudeo Joshi, and Advait Mahendra Sethna. Their appointments follow a recommendation from the Supreme Court Collegium, which was issued on September 24.
The original recommendation for these lawyers was made by the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on January 19, 2024, highlighting the judiciary’s ongoing efforts to fill vacancies and enhance its operational capacity.
Currently, the Bombay High Court is operating with 64 judges, significantly below its sanctioned strength of 94. This development is a critical step towards addressing the backlog of cases and improving the overall efficiency of the court system in one of India’s most populous states.
