Three Additional Judges Swearing Ceremony in AP High Court: Three newly appointed additional judges took their oath in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Justice Maheshwara Rao, Justice Thoot Chandra Dhanasekhar, and Justice Challa Gunaranjan were administered the oath by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur. The ceremony took place in the High Court’s first courtroom. It was attended by various dignitaries, including several judges, Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas, AP Bar Council President Dwarakanath Reddy, High Court Advocates’ Association President K. Chidambaram, Deputy Solicitor General P. Ponnarao, High Court Registrar General Dr. Y. Lakshman Rao, other registrars, and members of the Bar Association and Bar Council.
It is well known that the Supreme Court Collegium recently recommended three additional judges for the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Based on this recommendation, the High Court has appointed Kuncha Maheshwara Rao, Thoot Chandra Dhanasekhar, and Gunaranjan as additional judges in the same court. This decision marks an important development in the judicial system of Andhra Pradesh, reinforcing the bench with experienced legal professionals.
In this context, the Supreme Court Collegium, comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice B.R. Gavai, mentioned in its orders that the appointments of the three additional judges for the Andhra Pradesh High Court were made after considering recommendations from Chief Justice Dheeraj Singh Thakur and two senior judges of the High Court. This proposal was sent on May 15, and the Collegium took it into account for its decision.
Following discussions with the President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced that these judges would be appointed as additional judges in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Additionally, Justice Siddayya Rachayya, currently serving as an additional judge in the Karnataka High Court, has been appointed as a permanent judge there.
Currently, there are 26 judges serving in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Among them, Senior Judge Justice Narendra’s name has recently been recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for the position of Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. If the central government and the President approve the recent recommendations for the three additional judges, the total number of judges in the High Court will increase to 29. There is approval for appointing a total of 37 judges in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
