Centre clears Delhi HC Chief Justice Manmohan’s appointment as Supreme Court judge

Delhi High Court Chief Justice Manmohan . File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Centre on Tuesday (December 3, 2024) notified the elevation of Delhi High Court’s Chief Justice Manmohan as a judge of the Supreme Court.

In a related post, Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Justice (independent charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal on X wrote, “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Manmohan, Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.” Once he takes oath as judge of the top court, the working strength of the top court will rise to 33, one short of the sanctioned strength of 34, which includes the Chief Justice of India.

The Supreme Court collegium on November 28 recommended the elevation of Justice Manmohan to the top court.

The two vacancies in the apex court arose after retirements of Justice Hima Kohli and former CJI D Y Chandrachud.

“Justice Manmohan stands at serial number 2 in the combined all-India seniority of high court judges and he is the senior-most judge in the High Court of Delhi,” it said.

“While recommending his name, the collegium has taken into consideration the fact that, at present, the bench of Supreme Court is represented by only one judge from the High Court of Delhi,” read the SC Collegium statement proposing his name.

Justice Manmohan was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on March 13, 2008 and has been functioning as its chief justice since September 29, 2024.

He was appointed as the acting chief justice of the Delhi High Court on November 9, 2023.

Justice Manmohan, 61, is the son of late Jagmohan, a famous bureaucrat-turned politician who also served as the Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

Justice Manmohan, who was then a senior advocate, was appointed as an additional judge of Delhi High Court on March 13, 2008 and made a permanent judge on December 17, 2009.

He enrolled as an advocate in 1987 after obtaining a law degree from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.

The retirement age of SC judges is 65 years, while high court judges demit office at 62.