CUTTACK: Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra and Justice Ananda Chandra Behera were on Tuesday sworn in as judges of the Orissa High Court.
Justice Mishra and Justice Behera were elevated from advocate and judicial officer respectively. Following a recommendation by the Supreme Court collegium, the Ministry of Law & Justice (Department of Justice) issued notification of their appointment on September 2.
Chief Justice Subhasis Talapatra administered the oath of office and secrecy to the two judges in a simple ceremony on the high court premises. Justice Mishra started practice as a lawyer in 1991 and specialised in civil, criminal, and service law. He was an advocate-on-record for the Odisha government in the Supreme Court. He was also counsel for the Union of India and Orissa High Court in the Supreme Court.
Justice Behera served as a judicial officer in various capacities in the state. Starting as a fast-track judge in 2004, he went on to join the regular cadre of district judges in 2013. He served as an additional district judge in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sundargarh, Rourkela and Dharamgarh.
He had thereafter served as district judge of Jagatsinghpur and Berhampur. The number of judges in the high court went up to 22 with the joining of Justice Mishra and Justice Behera. The sanctioned strength of judges for the high court is 27.