Today, On 30th October, Five new judges have been sworn in at the Kerala High Court, reducing the number of judicial vacancies to just two. Following these recent appointments, the court now operates with 45 judges out of its sanctioned strength of 47. This development strengthens the judicial capacity of the Kerala High Court, enhancing its ability to manage caseloads effectively.
Kerala: Today, five judicial officers officially sworn in as judges of the Kerala High Court, reducing the number of vacancies at the High Court Bench to two.
The oath of office administered by Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar to Justices Paramesara Panicker Krishna Kumar, Kodassery Veliyath Madom Jayakumar, Muralee Krishna Shankaramoole, Jobin Sebastian, and Pandikkaran Varadaraja Iyer Balakrishnan.
During the ceremony, Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup and Advocate Yeshwanth Shenoy, President of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA), addressed the attendees, welcoming the new judges and highlighting the importance of their appointments while expressing optimism about their contributions to the judiciary in Kerala.
Advocate General Kurup also criticized the Central government for its delays in approving the Collegium’s recommendations for High Court judge appointments. He noted that the Supreme Court Collegium had to recommend Justice PP Krishna Kumar’s appointment twice before the Central government finally approved it.
The Kerala High Court Collegium initially recommended the elevation of four of the newly sworn-in judges in May 2024, a recommendation that the Supreme Court Collegium confirmed in a resolution dated October 15.
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While four of the judges first recommended by the SC Collegium on October 15, Justice PP Krishna Kumar’s name had been previously recommended in October of the previous year. Due to the Central government not clearing the 2023 proposal at that time, the Collegium reiterated Justice Kumar’s name in the October 15 resolution issued this year.
Following this, the Central government approved the appointments of all five judicial officers as additional judges of the Kerala High Court.
With these new appointments, the Kerala High Court now has 45 judges, compared to its sanctioned strength of 47.