In a Historic First, 3 Women Among 9 Take Oath As Supreme Court Judges

Of the nine, three are women. One – PS Narasimha – was a senior advocate.

Nine judges took oath as judges of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 31 August, increasing the strength of the apex court to 33.

The judges, who were administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, included: Justice AS Oka, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice JK Maheshwari, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice CT Ravikumar, Justice MM Sundresh, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice PS Narasimha.

Of these nine, three are women and one – PS Narasimha – was a senior advocate.

With their swearing-in, the apex court is now left with just one vacancy.

Justice Nagarathna May Become First Woman CJI in 2027

Among them, Justice BV Nagarathna might end up becoming the first woman CJI in 2027.

Justice Nagarathna was enrolled to the Bangalore Bar in 1987 and practised as an advocate dealing with matters pertaining to constitutional law, commercial law, and administrative law. She is the daughter of Justice ES Venkataramiah, who became the first Chief Justice of India from Karnataka in 1989.

She was appointed as an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court in February 2008 and became a permanent judge exactly two years later in February 2010.

President Ram Nath Kovind had notified the appointment of these nine judges to SC on 26 August, following the Centre's nod on the recommendations made by the Collegium.