“In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, has appointed the following advocates as additional judges of the Bombay High Court,” announced Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice, on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
MUMBAI: Five additional judges were sworn in at the Bombay High Court on Friday(24th Oct).
Chief Justice DK Upadhyay administered the oath to:
- Nivedita Prakash Mehta
- Prafulla Surendrakumar Khubalkar
- Ashwin Damodar Bhobe
- Rohit Wasudeo Joshi
- Advait Mahendra Sethna
These judges will serve for two years, after which their confirmation as permanent judges will be considered.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, has appointed the following advocates as additional judges of the Bombay High Court,” announced Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice, on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Centre gives nod to appoint 5 lawyers as additional judges of Bombay High Court
- Nivedita Prakash Mehta: With 31 years of experience, Mehta has practised in civil, constitutional, service, municipal, labour, and criminal law. She also represented the Maharashtra government for 11 years before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.
- Prafulla Surendrakumar Khubalkar: Khubalkar has 27 years of legal practice, focusing on civil, constitutional, service, and arbitration matters, primarily at the Nagpur bench of the High Court. The Supreme Court Collegium highlighted that his elevation, as a member of the OBC community, would enhance representation for the said category in the higher judiciary.
- Ashwin Damodar Bhobe: Bhobe has been practising for over 26 years, mainly before the Goa bench of the High Court, as well as in district courts and tribunals across Goa.
- Rohit Wasudeo Joshi: With more than 26 years of experience, Joshi, from the Nagpur bench, specialises in civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, and service law. He has also represented a public sector undertaking (PSU) in legal matters.
- Advait Mahendra Sethna: Sethna has over 20 years of experience practising at the principal seat of the Bombay High Court in Mumbai. He has represented both the Maharashtra and central governments as a panel lawyer, handling cases related to intellectual property, environmental issues, taxation, constitutional law, and the Armed Forces Tribunal.
Before their appointment, the High Court had 64 judges against a sanctioned strength of 94. With these five additions, the working strength has now increased to 69.
The Central government approved their appointments on October 23, following the Supreme Court Collegium’s recommendation dated September 24. The Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court had originally proposed their elevation on January 19, 2024.
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