High Courts 2023: A Recap of HC Judges’ Elevation, Retirements, Judicial Strength and Collegium Recommendations

The End of the year is near, which means it is also the time to reflect. It is needless to say that 2023 has been a busy year for the Higher Judiciary. This year the questions of high vacancies and below average female representation dominated the discourses. Many Judges were elevated to the Supreme Court, 15 Chief Justices of various High Courts retired, and the Supreme Court Collegium made over 200 proposals to close the gaping hole of vacancies. We have thus attempted to curate the relevant happenings that affected the High Court across the country in 2023.

High Court Chief Justices and Judges elevated to the Supreme Court in 2023

In 2023, 13 High Court Judges (11 Chief Justices and 2 Judges) were recommended and then elevated as Supreme Court Judges-

High Court Chief Justices

High Court Judges

High Court Chief Justices Appointed in 2023

Justice Sonia G. Gokani takes oath as First Woman Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court

In a historic day for Gujarat High Court, Justice Sonia G. Gokani, was sworn in as not only the High Court’s 28th Chief Justice, but also Gujarat High Court’s First Woman Chief Justice.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh — The 36th Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court

Born on 01-03-1963, at Imphal, Manipur, Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, was sworn in as the 36th Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on 15-02-2023.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra- The 14th Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court

Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra was sworn-in as the Jharkhand High Court’s 14th Chief Justice on 20-02-2023. The Governor of Jharkhand, C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Justice Mishra at Governor House in Ranchi.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Pritinker Diwaker: The 50th Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.

One of the oldest High Courts in India, the Allahabad High Court on 26-03-2023, witnessed the joyous occasion of swearing in of its 50th Chief Justice1, Justice Pritinker Diwaker.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Ramesh Sinha — 15th Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court

Chhattisgarh High Court got its new Chief Justice in Justice Ramesh Sinha, former senior judge of Allahabad High Court, who was appointed as the High Court’s 15th Chief Justice vide notification dated 24-03-2023 issued by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh: 8th Chief Justice of Tripura High Court

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh took oath as the new Chief Justice of Tripura High Court on 17-04-2023¹.

Know Thy Judge | Justice T.S. Sivagnanam — Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 11-05-2023 welcomed its new Chief Justice, Justice Tirunelveli Subbiah Sivagnanam. After former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Justice Prakash Shrivastava retired on 30-03-2023, Justice Sivagnanam, being the seniormost Judge at the time, took over as the Acting Chief Justice.

Know Thy Judge | Justice R.D. Dhanuka: 46th Chief Justice of Bombay High Court

Justice Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka was appointed as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court via notification dated 26-05-2023 and was administered the oath of office on 28-05-2023 by Governor of Maharashtra, Ramesh Bais.

Know Thy Judge | 37th Chief Justice of Kerala High Court: Justice S.V. Bhatti

Justice S.V. Bhatti assumed office as 37th Chief Justice of Kerala High Court consequent upon the retirement of former Chief Justice, Justice S. Mani kumar. He had formerly served as the Judge in High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh. Justice Bhatti was later elevated as Judge of Supreme Court in May 2023.

Know Thy Judge | Justice M. S. Ramachandra Rao, the 28th Chief Justice of High Court of Himachal Pradesh

In order to provide representation to the State of Telangana among Chief Justices of the High Courts, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the appointment of Justice Ramachandra Rao in its Resolution dated 19-04-202311 and on 26-05-2023, the recommendation was confirmed by the Executive. On 30-05-2023, Justice Rao was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh.

Know Thy Judge| Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala — 52nd Chief Justice of Madras High Court

The Supreme Court Collegium on 19-04-2023, recommended appointment of Justice S.V. Gangapurwala as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. On 26-05-2023, President Droupadi Murmu appointed him as Chief Justice of Madras High Court. With the appointment of Justice S.V. Gangapurwala, Madras High Court got a Chief Justice after a long period of eight months.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Sunita Agarwal: Second Woman Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court

Justice Sunita Agarwal, formerly a Judge of Allahabad High Court, was sworn in as the 29th Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court. Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, administered the oath of office to Justice Sunita Agarwal at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar, which was attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Speaker of Gujarat Legislative Assembly Shankar Chaudhary, and Minister of Law and Justice Rushikesh Patel. Justice Sunita Agarwal is the 2nd woman to become Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court. Her predecessor, Justice Sonia G. Gokani was the First woman to hold the office of Gujarat High Court’s Chief Justice.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Ashish Jitendra Desai: 38th Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala

Upon elevation of Justice S.V. Bhatti to the Supreme Court, the Collegium recommended the name of Justice A.J. Desai. The Ministry of Law and Justice accepted the recommendation and hence Justice Desai was appointed as the 38th Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala.

Know Thy Judge| Justice Alok Aradhe: 6th Chief Justice of Telangana High Court

Justice Alok Aradhe was sworn in as Chief Justice of Telangana High Court on 23-07-2023 by the Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. He succeeded Justice Ujjal Bhuyan who has been elevated as a Judge in the Supreme Court of India. Justice Aradhe has formerly served as Judge in High Courts of Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur: 5th Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court

Born on 25-04-1964, Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court on 28-07-2023 by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer.

Know Thy Judge| Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya: 47th Chief Justice of Bombay High Court

Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya was appointed as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court on 24-07-2023.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Subhasis Talapatra, 33rd Chief Justice of High Court of Orissa

Justice Subhasis Talapatra, former judge of the High Court of Tripura, was sworn in as 33rd Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa on 08-08-2023 upon superannuation of his predecessor Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar.

Know Thy Judge | Justice Siddharth Mridul, 7th Chief Justice of Manipur High Court

Ministry of Law and Justice on 16-10-2023 notified the appointment of Justice Siddharth Mridul, Judge Delhi High Court, as the 7th Chief Justice of Manipur High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office. Justice Mridul was thus sworn in as the Chief Justice of High Court of Manipur on 20-10-2023.

High Court Chief Justices Who Retired in 2023

Justice Jaswant Singh retires after a short tenure as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court.

Justice Sonia Giridhar Gokani, the First Woman Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, retires

Justice Arup Kumar Goswami- 14th Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court retires

Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, retires

Justice Sabina — Acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, retires

Justice S. Manikumar- The 36th Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, retires

Know Thy Judge | Justice T. Raja, Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court Retires

46th Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Justice Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka, retires after a very brief tenure of 3 days

Dr Justice S. Muralidhar: A Devoted Preserver of Rule of Law, retires

Orissa High Court bids farewell to its 33rd Chief Justice Subhasis Talapatra

Justice Ravi Shanker Jha, 65th Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, retires

Justice Vipin Sanghi, 12th Chief Justice of Uttaranchal High Court, retires

Meghalaya High Court bids farewell to its 11th Chief Justice, Justice Sanjib Banerjee

Allahabad High Court bids farewell to its 50th Chief Justice, Justice Pritinker Diwaker

Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, 14th Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, retires

Judicial Strength of the High Courts in 2023

As per report published by the Ministry of Law and Justice’s Department of Justice, Vacancies for High Court Judges as of 01-12-2023 is 324².

As of 01-12-2023, there are 790 Judges as against the strength of 1,114 Judges in High Courts all across India.³

As per Law Minister’s reply in Parliament on a question concerning representation of women in the Higher Judiciary, it was stated that at present there are 111 women judges out of a total of 790 Judges in the High Courts.⁴

Law Ministry also stated that, 122 proposals have been received from the High Court Collegiums for appointment of judges and they are at different stages of processing. Out of the 122 proposals, 87 proposals were sent to the Supreme Court Collegium for advice.⁵

Recommendations by Supreme Court Collegium for High Courts in 2023

The Supreme Court Collegium focused not only on the appointments, but also recommended transfers of several Judges to different High Courts. In 2023, the Collegium made over 200 recommendations for appointment of Chief Justices, Additional and Permanent Judges for various High Courts. Furthermore, the Collegium also recommended the transfer of 30+ High Court Judges for better administration of justice.⁶

2023 also saw the Collegium actively reiterate notable names which were recommended in the past to be elevated as Judges, but the declaration of their appointment was pending with the Law Ministry-

Saurabh Kirpal, Senior Advocate- The Supreme Court Collegium expressed its disagreement with the Center for returning the proposal to appoint Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal as a Judge in Delhi High Court, based on his openness about his sexual orientation and his partner being a Swiss National having a bearing on national security. The proposal to appoint Senior Advocate Kripal has been pending since over five years which was unanimously made by the Collegium of Delhi High Court on 13-10-2017 and approved by the Supreme Court collegium on 11-11-2021.

Somasekhar Sundaresan, Advocate- The Supreme Court Collegium while expressing its disagreement with the Centre, reiterated its earlier proposal to elevate Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan as a Judge in Bombay High Court. Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan was recommended by the Collegium of Bombay High Court on 04-10-2021 and the same was approved by the Supreme Court Collegium on 16-02-2022. However, on 25-11-2022, the Centre sought reconsideration on the ground that in the past he has aired his views in the social media on several matters which are sub-judice before the Courts. In response to such a stand, the Collegium said that that views expressed on social media do not furnish foundation to infer that he is biased and the issues on which he has aired his views are extensively deliberated upon in the print and electronic media. The same does not disentitle him to hold a constitutional office.

Sundaresan’s name was eventually cleared for elevation as Additional Judge of the High Court of Bombay.

R. John Sathyan, Advocate: The Supreme Court Collegium comprising of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph J.J., while expressing its dimissory with the Center, reiterated its proposal to elevate Advocate R. John Sathyan as a judge of the Madras High Court. The Centre had rejected his elevation citing an Intelligence Bureau (‘IB’) report stating that he had shared an article that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the Collegium stated that the IB report noted that nothing came against his integrity who also did not have any overt political leanings, therefore, the adverse comments of the IB in respect of posts made by him would not impinge on the suitability, character or integrity of Advocate R. John Sathyan.

The Collegium became the centre of discourse within legal and political circles due to its proposal to elevate Advocate LC Victoria Gowri as a Judge of the Madras High Court. The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court where Division Bench of Sanjiv Khanna and B.R. Gavai, JJ., in Anna Mathew v. Supreme Court of India, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 131, stated that after the Collegium of the High Court makes a recommendation for elevation, inputs are received from the intelligence agencies, which conduct a background check, and comments from the government are considered by the Collegium of the Supreme Court consisting of the Chief Justice of India and two senior most Judges.

It was stated that the opinion and comments of the Judges of the Supreme Court conversant with the affairs of the High Court concerned are called for in writing and placed before the Collegium. Invariably several shoot down and dismissive letters and communications from all quarters are received. Only thereafter, and on consideration, the Collegium of the Supreme Court takes a final call, which is then communicated to the government. The Court opined that, while exercising power of judicial review, it cannot issue a writ of certiorari quashing the recommendation, or mandamus calling upon the Collegium of the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, as this would be contrary to the ratio and dictum of the earlier decisions of this Court.

Also Read: Supreme Court 2023: A Look Back at Judicial Strength, Appointments, Retirements, and Collegium Resolutions

1. https://thc.nic.in/CJ_AKSingh.html

2. 20231201833575571.pdf (s3waas.gov.in)

3. Supra

4. 75.69% of judges appointed between 2018 and 2023 belong to general category (business-standard.com)

5. Supra

6. https://main.sci.gov.in/collegium-resolutions