NEW DELHI: Justice Prasanna B Varale was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court on Thursday, taking the strength of total number of judges to 34, the optimum and sanctioned strength of the SC.
With the elevation of Justice Varale as a Supreme Court judge, the apex court for the first time has three judges belonging from the Scheduled Castes - Justices BR Gavai, CT Ravikumar and Varale.
This is the highest-ever representation of the Scheduled Caste community in the top court.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud administered the oath to Justice Varale, who was earlier the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court and a judge of the Bombay High Court.
It is to be noted that Justice Varale was elevated to the SC, within 7 days of his recommendation by the SC Collegium.
The Supreme Court Collegium had on January 19 recommended to the Centre for the elevation of Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, Justice Prasanna B Varale as a SC Judge.
After receiving the recommendation of the SC Collegium, the central government had yesterday cleared the appointment of Justice Varale as a judge to the Top Court.
The five-member Collegium of the SC, headed by the CJI Dr Chandrachud and four other senior most judges of the SC, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, had on January 19 recommended the Centre for the elevation of HC CJ Varale as a judge to the SC.
Justice Varale would fill the vacant post in the SC, after the second senior-most judge of the SC Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul demitted office on December 25, last year.
Justice Varale, born on June, 23, 1962, graduated in Arts and Law from Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. He was enrolled as an advocate on August, 12, 1985, and joined Chamber of advocate S N Loya and practiced on many aspects of law, including; Civil and Criminal Side.
He was appointed as a Bombay High Court judge on July 18, 2008.
The SC Collegium said, Justice Varale has “unimpeachable conduct and integrity” with 23 years’ of legal practice before his appointment as a High Court judge.
He also stood sixth in the combined all India seniority list of High Court judges and a well deserving candidate to be elevated as a judge of the apex court.