New Delhi: Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday, announced via Twitter that the Centre had accepted the recommendations of the Supreme Court collegium and appointed five judicial officers as judges to the Gujarat high court.

Judicial officers, namely Susan Pinto, H D Suthar, J C Doshi, M R Mengdey, and D A Joshi, have been elevated from the subordinate judiciary to the HC bench.

As per the relevant provisions under the Constitution of India, the following Judicial Officers are appointed as Judges of High Court of Gujarat. pic.twitter.com/el4UMbpCgO

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) March 15, 2023

The collegium had initially recommended seven persons for elevation, including two members of the Bar, Devan Desai and Moxa Thakker. In September 2022, the Gujarat HC’s collegium had sent its recommendations to the SC, which were later concurred by the state’s chief minister and governor. Earlier this month, the SC collegium recommended these names to the Centre, which appears to have cleared the names of the five judicial officers.

It is also noteworthy that despite having a sanctioned strength of 52 judges, the Gujarat HC currently has only 24 sitting judges. DeshGujarat