Calcutta High Court gets 8 new judges at once in over two decades: Here’s a full list

Eight new judges will be simultaneously inducted into the Calcutta High Court, for the first time in over 20 years in history, when as many as eight judges are appointed in a single batch. The transfer should ease a judicial system burdened with a backlog of pending cases and a chronic shortage of judges.

The appointments follow the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium that recommended the names of nine advocates to the Central Government from the Calcutta High Court for appointments as judges on May 12. The President of India has now accepted the appointments of eight of those, recommended by the Appointments Committee of the State Cabinet, paving the way for them to join the Bench.

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Reports confirmed that the oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held next Tuesday.

Who are these 8 new judges?

The eight advocates who are set to take the oath as judges are Aryak Dutt, Atarup Banerjee, Sandeep Dey, Parthasarathy Roy, Sudeep Dev, Anuj Singh, Arjun Roy Mukherjee and Nishad Medera.

Notably, the sanctioned strength of the court is 72 judges. However, after the induction of these eight new judges, the working strength will rise to 49, indicating that while vacancies will remain, the gap will narrow considerably.

Several members of the legal fraternity lauded the fact that it has been more than twenty years since the Calcutta High Court witnessed such a large number of judges being appointed at one time. Many believe the appointments will help improve the pace of judicial proceedings and reduce the burden on the existing Bench, which has been handling an increasing number of cases over the years.

The need for additional judges has been felt for quite some time.

For several years, discussions have continued regarding the appointment of more judges to the Calcutta High Court. Multiple representations and applications were reportedly made flagging the growing workload on the court.

Which are the other Circuit Benches facing judges’ shortage?

The pressure has not been limited to the principal seat in Kolkata alone.

The number of cases that require regular hearing has increased steadily at the Andaman Circuit Bench as well as at the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench. Proceedings are held there regularly, and four of the High Court judges rotate their duties there for 15-day periods.

This system is necessary for providing access to justice in various parts of the jurisdiction of the court, but it has also put pressure on the already strong hands of the judges of the Calcutta High Court.