The Central government has notified the appointment of five new additional judges to the Calcutta High Court. Four notifications issued today intimate the appointment of the following as additional judges:
Justices Md Nizamuddin, Tirthankar Ghosh, Hiranmay Bhattacharyya and Saugata Bhattacharyya have been appointed for a two-year term from the date on which they assume office.
However, Justice Manojit Mondal’s term has been notified to end on September 26, 2020.
Md Nizamuddin’s appointment is based on a Collegium recommendation made in 2016. The names of Tirthankar Ghosh and Hiranmay Bhattacharyya were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium in December 2018, after the consideration of their names was deferred in March the same year.
Saugata Bhattacharyya was recommended for elevation in October 2018, along with another advocate, Aniruddha Roy. Manojit Mondal, a senior judicial officer, was recommended for elevation last month, along with the name of advocate Sandipan Ganguly. However, today’s notifications are silent as regards the proposed elevation of advocates Roy and Ganguly.
With the appointment of five more judges, the working strength of the Calcutta High Court will rise to 41 judges from the present 36 judges. The sanctioned strength of the High Court is 72 judges.
Read the notifications: