The Supreme Court of India is set to function with 34 judges, including the Chief Justice, after Justice Prasanna B. Varale from Karnataka was sworn in as a judge on Thursday.
Justice Varale was the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court when he was recommended to the Supreme Court by a Supreme Court Collegium on January 19.
Justice Varale was the senior-most judge belonging to a Scheduled Caste and the only Chief Justice belonging to a Scheduled Caste among the Chief Justices of high courts across the country. He has been a judge of the Bombay High Court since July 2008 and was elevated to the position of Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on October 15, 2022.
Before being elevated to the Supreme Court, Justice Varale had practiced at the bar for more than 23 years in civil, criminal, labour, and administrative law matters in the district and sessions court and in constitutional matters at the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court. The Supreme Court vacancy was created by the retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on December 25, 2023.
The name of Justice Varale was cleared by the Union government within a period of five days after the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation.
Inputs from IANS, edited with AI assistance.