Ten days after the Supreme Court Collegium cleared his name, the Centre has notified CESTAT Judicial Member Ajay Sharma As Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court for two years.
New Delhi: One of the two Bombay High Court names cleared by the Supreme Court Collegium on October 26 has now been notified. On Thursday, November 5, 2026, the Union Government appointed Ajay Sharma, Judicial Member of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Mumbai, as an Additional Judge of the High Court. [Notification No. K-13014/03/2026-US-I, Department of Justice]
The notification comes from the Appointments Division of the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, and carries the signature of Jagannath Srinivasan, Joint Secretary to the Government of India. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal shared the news in a post on X the same evening.
One name notified, one still awaited
The Collegium’s resolution of October 26, 2026 approved two names for the Bombay High Court: Ajay Sharma of CESTAT, Mumbai, and Advocate Vaibhav Anant Sugdare. The same set of resolutions recommended Chief Justices for the Gujarat, Delhi, Telangana and Uttarakhand High Courts and seven advocates for the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Only Sharma has been notified so far. No notification has yet been issued for Advocate Sugdare.
The operative text
The appointment is made under clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to appoint additional judges to a High Court. The operative part of the notification reads:
“In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Ajay Sharma, to be an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court for a period of two years with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.”
Dated November 5, 2026, the notification is to be published in the Gazette of India, Part I, Section 2.
Moving from the tribunal to the High Court
CESTAT hears appeals in customs, central excise and service tax disputes. Sharma now leaves the tribunal’s Mumbai bench for the High Court, where appeals against CESTAT orders on questions of law are themselves heard in several categories of cases. His two-year term as an additional judge starts on the day he takes charge, after which he may be considered for appointment as a permanent judge.
What the appointment means for the bench
The Bombay High Court carries one of the heaviest dockets in the country, and every addition to its bench affects how quickly matters are heard. The appointment also shows the Centre acting on part of a Collegium resolution while holding back another name from the same proposal, a pattern that has drawn attention in past appointment cycles.
Subject: Appointment of Ajay Sharma as Additional Judge, Bombay High Court
Notification: No. K-13014/03/2026-US-I, Department of Justice (Appointments Division), Ministry of Law and Justice
Provision: Article 224(1), Constitution of India
Term: Two years from the date of assuming charge
Collegium recommendation: October 26, 2026
Date of notification: November 5, 2026
