New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Monday administered the oath of office to Justice Joymalya Bagchi, a judge of the Calcutta High Court, as a Supreme Court judge.
The CJI administered the oath to Justice Bagchi in the presence of other Supreme Court judges at a ceremony on the apex court premises.
With the swearing-in of Justice Bagchi, the top court will have 33 judges against its sanctioned strength of 34.
Justice Bagchi has a tenure of more than six years in the Supreme Court, during which he will also serve as the Chief Justice of India from May 25, 2031, to October 2, 2031.
The SC Collegium headed by CJI Khanna recommended Bagchi’s name on March 6, 2025, “after carefully evaluating merit, integrity, competence and also accommodating a plurality of considerations”.
Justice Bagchi was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta High Court on June 27, 2011, and transferred to the Andhra Pradesh HC on January 4, 2021. He was repatriated to the Calcutta HC on November 8, 2021, and has been working there since then. He served as a high court judge for more than 13 years.
“During his long tenure as a judge of the High Court, Justice Joymalya Bagchi has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. After the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir on July 18, 2013, as CJI, there has not been any CJI from the High Court at Calcutta,” said the Collegium statement recommending him.
The Collegium also took into consideration the fact that, at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court has only one judge from the Calcutta HC.
The Centre subsequently accepted the recommendation and notified his appointment.
