In a significant addition to the strength and diversity of the Delhi High Court, Justices Dinesh Mehta, Avnish Jhingan and Chandrashekaran Sudha on Tuesday formally took oath as judges of the Delhi High Court. The swearing-in ceremony held at the Delhi High Court was presided over by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and included sitting judges, senior advocates, members of the Delhi High Court Bar Association, appointed Family members of the judges and other eminent members of the legal fraternity attended.
Chief Justice Upadhyay welcomed the three judges to the Delhi High Court during the swearing-in ceremony, marking their official assumption of judicial duties in the national capital. The Union Ministry of Law and Justice has recently issued notifications formalizing these appointments.
The notification said “In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, transfers Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Avnish Jhingan from the Rajasthan High Court and Justice Chandrasekaran Sudha from the Kerala High Court to the Delhi High Court.”
His transfer will bring to the Delhi High Court a wealth of judicial experience from three different jurisdictions, a move that is expected to strengthen the administrative and judicial capabilities of the court. These appointments come in the wake of Chief Justice of India B.R. The moves follow the August 27 recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium headed by Gavai, which proposed transfer of Justices Mehta, Jhingan and Sudha to the Delhi High Court. In the same meeting, it was also recommended to transfer Justice Arun Monga and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju from Delhi High Court to Rajasthan and Karnataka High Courts respectively.
Both Justice Monga and Justice Ganju were given a formal farewell by the full court on Monday. The reshuffle has also changed the seniority pattern within the court, and now six of the top ten judges (in terms of seniority) are from other high courts. This change is likely to affect the composition of key administrative committees, including the General Supervisory and Administrative Committee.