Justice KM Joseph takes oath as junior-most judge of Supreme Court
Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 7
Putting at rest the seven-month-old controversy over his elevation, Justice KM Joseph on Tuesday took oath as a judge of the Supreme Court along with two other judges, who were administered oath by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra before him.
The much-hyped swearing-in ceremony took place in court no. 1 i.e. the CJI's court which was jam-packed, with many advocates and journalists failing to gain entry.
The two judges administered oath before Justice KM Joseph were Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Vineet Saran as their names figured at number 1 and 2 in the Warrant of Appointment signed by the President last week.
With three more judges taking oath, strength of the Supreme Court has risen to 25 against the sanctioned strength of 31 judges, including the CJI.
Justice Joseph – who struck down the President's rule in Uttarakhand in 2016, has been hitting national headlines since then for one reason or the other.
Despite objections raised by some senior judges against undermining of Justice Joseph's "seniority", there was no change in the seniority and Justice Joseph was the last one to take oath.
Family members and close relatives of the new judges were present in the court to witness the swearing-in ceremony.
Justice Joseph's wife, son, daughter and son-in-law were seen taking pictures after the swearing-in.
After the ceremony, courts started functioning at 11.30 am and the three new judges sat in the first three courts.
While Justice Banerjee sat with the CJI and Justice DY Chandrachud in court number 1, Justice Saran went to court number 2 and sat with Justice Gogoi and Justice Navin Sinha.
On his first day in the top court, Justice Joseph sat in court no. 3 with Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta and among other cases, heard Bihar Shelter Home sex abuse case.
According to the January 10, resolution of the Collegium that recommended Justice Joseph's name for elevation to the top court for the first time, he was at serial number 45 in the combined seniority of High Court Judges on all-India basis. He was appointed as a high court judge on October 14, 2004 and he was made chief justice of a high court on July 31, 2014. He will retire as an SC judge on June 16, 2023.
Justice Banerjee was at serial number 4 while Justice Saran stood at serial number 5 in the combined seniority of high court judges on all-India basis, stated the July 16 resolution of the Collegium which recommended their names for elevation as Supreme Court judges.
Appointed as a high court judge on February 5, 2002, Justice Banerjee went on to become chief justice of a high court on April 5, 2017. She would retire on September 23, 2022 as a top court judge.
Justice Saran – who was appointed as a high court judge on February 14, 2002 – became chief justice of a high court on February 26, 2016. He will retire on May 20, 2022 as an SC judge.
Some senior judges were upset at undermining of "seniority" of Justice Joseph as his name was originally recommended by the Collegium on January 10 along with that of senior advocate Indu Malhotra – more than six months before Justice Banerjee and Justice Sharan got recommended for elevation.
As the government returned Justice Joseph's file to the Collegium for reconsideration in April, Justice Malhotra was administered oath of office. The government had cited seniority and regional representation as grounds for returning Justice Joseph's name for reconsideration.
