Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale on Thursday took oath as a judge of the Supreme Court. He was administered the oath to office by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud in a function in the apex court premises in New Delhi.
With his swearing-in, the apex court has attained its full strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. The lone vacancy in the Supreme Court was created following the retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul in December 2023.
The name of Justice Varale for the judgeship was cleared by the Centre on Wednesday.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a post on X on Wednesday said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon’ble President, after consultation with Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Sh Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court as Judge of Supreme Court of India.”
While recommending Justice Varale’s name earlier this month, the Supreme Court Collegium said it took into consideration the fact that he is among the senior-most high court judges and is the only HC chief justice from the Scheduled Caste.
He would become the third sitting apex court judge from a Scheduled Caste community. The others are Justices B R Gavai and C T Ravikumar.
His appointment came less than a week after the Supreme Court Collegium headed by the CJI recommended him on January 19.
The five-member Collegium comprises of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, along with CJI Chandrachud.