The Delhi High Court is set to get seven new judges as judicial officers from Delhi's subordinate courts take oath of office on Monday. With these appointments, the total number of judges working at the High Court will rise to 50.
Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court D K Upadhyaya will administer the oath to the newly appointed judges at a ceremony scheduled to be held at 10 am on the High Court premises.
The seven judicial officers taking oath are Nivedita Anil Sharma, Nisha Sahay Saxena, Sanjay Sharma, Bharat Parashar, Aditi Choudhary, Dinesh Bhatt and Arun Bhardwaj.
Seven judicial officers to join Delhi High Court
All seven judicial officers have so far been serving in Delhi's district judiciary. Their elevation to the High Court comes after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended their names.
The Centre issued the notification for their appointments on September 19 following the Collegium's recommendation.
The appointments will add to the strength of the Delhi High Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 60 judges. With the seven new appointments, the number of judges working at the High Court will rise to 50, according to the information provided for the appointments.
The oath-taking ceremony will begin at 10 am on Monday at the Delhi High Court complex.
Delhi High Court has 60 sanctioned posts
The Delhi High Court currently has a sanctioned strength of 60 judges. The seven new appointments will take the working strength closer to the sanctioned capacity.
The development is also significant in the context of the long history of the Delhi High Court and the expansion of the judiciary in the national capital over the decades.
When was Delhi High Court established?
The Delhi High Court came into existence on October 31, 1966. However, the judicial administration of Delhi had undergone several changes before the separate High Court was established.
Initially, the Lahore High Court, established in 1919, had jurisdiction over both Punjab and Delhi. This arrangement continued until Partition in 1947.
On August 15, 1947, the East Punjab High Court was established. Its proceedings began from the Peterhoff building in Shimla. The building was destroyed in a fire in January 1981.
In 1954-55, after the Punjab government shifted its operations to Chandigarh, the High Court also moved there and came to be known as the Punjab High Court. A circuit bench was established to hear cases relating to Delhi.
As Delhi's population and importance grew, Parliament passed the Delhi High Court Act on September 5, 1966. The separate Delhi High Court was subsequently established on October 31, 1966.
Delhi High Court initially had four judges
When the Delhi High Court was established, it had only four judges. They were Chief Justice K S Hegde, Justice I D Dua, Justice H R Khanna and Justice S K Kapoor.
In its early years, the Delhi High Court also dealt with cases from Himachal Pradesh. A bench of the High Court sat at the Ravenswood building in Shimla. This arrangement ended on January 25, 1971, when Himachal Pradesh became a full-fledged state.
Over the years, the sanctioned strength of the Delhi High Court increased. It now has 60 sanctioned posts, comprising 45 permanent and 15 additional judges.
The seven new appointments mark another addition to the Delhi High Court's judicial strength, with the new judges set to formally assume their roles after taking oath on Monday.
