On Monday, the Kerala High Court received four new judges - Justices VG Arun, N Nagaresh, TV Anilkumar and N Anilkumar. The President notified the appointment of the four new judges on November 1, in accordance with a recommendation made by the Supreme Court to appoint new judges, on October 11.
Livelaw reports that Justices TV Anilkumar and N Anilkumar both joined the judicial services in 1991, and were promoted to the posts of District Judges in 2005. Justice TV Anilkumar was made the Director of the Kerala Judicial Academy in 2016. Justice N Anilkumar has been serving as the Registrar General of the Kerala High Court since January 2018.
Justices VG Arun and N Nagaresh were both practicing advocates before being appointed as Additional Judges on Monday. They both enrolled as advocates in 1989.
Justice VG Arun joined the chambers of Senior Advocate TR Raman Pillai in 1991. He was made the editor of the academic journal, ‘Indian Law Reports Kerala Series’, in 2005, and held the position until he was appointed as a judge on Monday.
Justice N Nagaresh began practising law at the Kerala High Court as a junior to Senior Advocate OV Radhakrishnan. He served as the Assistant Solicitor General of India from 2014 till November 1, 2018, a few days before he was appointed as a judge on Monday. He represented the Union of India in the Kerala High Court for various cases in this time.
While The New Indian Express reported that the SC had suggested the names of 5 new judges on October 11, only four have been appointed. PV Kunhikrishnan, the son of actor P V Unnikrishnan Namboothiri, was recommended by the Supreme Court, but has not been appointed as a judge in the Kerala High Court as of now.
With the appointment of these four new judges, the working strength of the Kerala High Court is now 38 judges. The Kerala High Court has a sanctioned strength of 47 judges.