Two SC judges to take oath on Monday

NEW DELHI: Two new judges -- Justices Rajesh Bindal and Aravind Kumar -- will be administered oath of office by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Monday morning.

Before being elevated as judges of the apex court, Justice Bindal was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court while Justice Kumar was the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.

Once they take oath, the top court will achieve its full strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, after a gap of nine months.

Here is what you need to know about the two new judges: JUSTICE RAJESH BINDAL Justice Bindal, whose parent cadre is the Punjab and Haryana High Court, had been serving as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court since October 11, 2021.

Born on April 16, 1961, Justice Bindal did LL.B. from the Kurukshetra University in 1985 and joined the profession in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 1985.

He was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 22, 2006.

According to information available on the website of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Bindal disposed of around 80,000 cases during his tenure in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

On his transfer to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, he took oath of office on November 19, 2018 and later, he was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of the common high court for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.

Justice Bindal was sworn in as a judge of the Calcutta High Court on January 5, 2021 and was appointed to perform the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of that high court with effect from April 29, 2021.

JUSTICE ARAVIND KUMAR Justice Kumar, whose parent cadre is the Karnataka High Court, was serving as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court since October 13, 2021.

Born on July 14, 1962, he was enrolled as an advocate in 1987.

In 1999, he was appointed as an additional central government standing counsel at the Karnataka High Court. He was appointed as member of the Regional Direct Taxes Advisory Committee in 2002 and later, he was appointed as an Assistant Solicitor General of India in 2005.

Justice Kumar was elevated as an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court on June 26, 2009. He was elevated as a permanent judge on December 7, 2012.