Seven Supreme Court judges to retire in 2018

New Delhi, February 24

Seven judges of the Supreme Court will retire this year, bringing down the number of judges in the country’s top court to 18.

The apex court is already six short of the required 31 judges, and a recommendation for appointing two judges is still pending with the central government.

Justice Amitava Roy will leave office on March 1, followed by Justice Rajesh Agrawal on May 4, according to the websites of the Supreme Court and the law ministry.

Friday was the last working day for Justice Roy as the top court will reopen on March 5 after the Holi break.

Justice J Chalmeswar, the second most senior judge of the top court after the chief justice of India, will retire on June 22, followed by Justice Adarsh Goel on July 6, the websites said.

CJI Dipak Misra will leave office on October 2, followed by Justice Kurian Joseph on November 29 and Justice Madan B Lokur on December 30.

The string of retirements in a court that is already short of judges will add to the pressure on the collegium and the central government to make new appointments.

The Supreme Court collegium had last month sent to the government the names of senior advocate Indu Malhotra and Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph for their appointment to the court, but the central government has yet to decide. PTI