The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of three judicial officers as judges of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which is currently operating with only 12 judges against a sanctioned strength of 17, including the Chief Justice.
Recommended Judicial Officers
The judicial officers recommended for elevation to the Himachal Pradesh High Court are Chirag Bhanu Singh, Bhupesh Sharma, and Yogesh Jaswal. Once their appointments are accepted and notified by the Department of Justice of the Central Government, the total number of judges in the Himachal Pradesh High Court will increase to 15.
Collegium Decision
The decision was taken by the Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, in a meeting held on June 2. The top court announced the decision on Wednesday. The collegium also included Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J.K. Maheshwari.
Other Recommendations
In the same meeting, the collegium recommended the appointment of two additional judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court — Justice Harmeet Singh Grewal and Justice Deepinder Singh Nalwa — as permanent judges of that court. Justice Grewal and Justice Nalwa were sworn in as additional judges of the high court on February 17, 2025.
Additionally, the collegium recommended the appointment of advocate Amit Lahoti as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The collegium also recommended the appointment of six lawyers as Karnataka High Court judges. The advocates recommended are Raghavendra Seetharam Srivatsa, Hema Kulkarni, Subramanya Rangarao, Thadagavadi Prakash Vivekananda, Bakkeswara Pramod, and Hombe Gowda Shanthi Bhushan.
