Centre appoints three judicial officers as Delhi high court judges, raising strength to 43

Judicial officers Vinod Kumar, Shail Jain and Madhu Jain were appointed as HC judges on the recommendations of the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on July 1

The Centre on Tuesday notified the appointment of three judicial officers—Vinod Kumar, Shail Jain, and Madhu Jain—as judges of the Delhi high court, taking its working strength to 43 against the sanctioned 60.

Tuesday’s notification comes a day after six judges—justices V Kameshwar Rao, Nitin Wasudeo Sambre, Vivek Chaudhary, Anil Kshetrapal, Arun Kumar Monga, and Om Prakash Shukla—were sworn in by chief justice DK Upadhyay as judges of the Delhi high court. (Shutterstock/representational image)

Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments on X. “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the President is pleased to appoint the following as judges of the Delhi High Court: Shri Vinod Kumar, judicial officer; Smt Shail Jain, judicial officer; and Smt Madhu Jain, judicial officer,” Meghwal posted.

The three officers, who joined the Delhi Judicial Service in 1992, were serving as principal district and sessions judges at various trial courts prior to their elevation -- Kumar was posted at Karkardooma court, Madhu Jain at Tis Hazari court, and Shail Jain at Saket court.

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on July 1 had recommended the names of judicial officers Shail Jain and Madhu Jain as judges of the Delhi high court. A day later, the collegium had also recommended judicial officer Vinod Kumar’s name.

Tuesday’s notification comes a day after six judges—justices V Kameshwar Rao, Nitin Wasudeo Sambre, Vivek Chaudhary, Anil Kshetrapal, Arun Kumar Monga, and Om Prakash Shukla—were sworn in by chief justice DK Upadhyay as judges of the Delhi high court.

Among them, justice V Kameshwar Rao was repatriated to Delhi from Karnataka, justice Nitin Sambre was transferred from the Bombay high court, while justices Vivek Chaudhary and Om Prakash Shukla came from the Allahabad high court. Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Arun Kumar Monga were transferred from the high courts of Punjab & Haryana and Rajasthan, respectively.

The induction of the six judges resulted in a significant shake-up in the administrative, judicial, and collegium structures of the court. It altered the seniority hierarchy, led to a major reshuffling of the judicial roster—the allocation of case types to individual judges—and gave a much-needed boost to the court’s depleted strength.

The induction of three additional judicial officers will not only further bolster the strength of the high court but also enhance the representation of women on the bench. The Delhi high court currently has nine women judges and the swearing-in of Madhu Jain and Shail Jain will take that number to eleven.

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