Eleven judges to give up work from Bombay High Court in 2022

Eleven judges to give up work from Bombay High Court in 2022

In the absence of new appointments, the bench strength of the High Court will decrease from 60 to 49. In total, 94 judges are sanctioned to serve on the High Court. As many as 11 judges will retire from the Bombay High Court in 2022, which would reduce the working strength of the Court from 60 to 49, unless new appointments are made.

In the absence of any new appointments, the working strength of the High Court will shrink from 60 to 49.

In 1994, the High Court was sanctioned to have 94 judges.

These are the judges who will retire in 2022:

1. SP Tavade was appointed on December 5, 2019. He will retire on March 4, 2022.

2. Known as the judge who sat well past Court working hours to hear cases, Justice SJ Kathawalla was appointed on July 18, 2008. The two of them sat for over 12 hours in May 2021 to hear cases, many of which needed immediate attention. In the same week, the same Bench stayed beyond midnight to hear a plea filed by Param Bir Singh, the former Mumbai Police commissioner. Justice Kathawalla, as a single-judge in May 2018, sat until 3.30 am the night before vacation to finish over 120 cases without taking a break. He will retire on March 23, 2022.

3. Justice VK Jadhav was appointed on March 3, 2014; he will retire on May 16, 2022.

4. Awarded on January 6, 2014; retiring on May 18, 2022 Justice VM Deshpande: Appointed on January 6, 2014; retiring on May 18, 2022.

5. Appointed on January 23, 2012, Sadhana S Jadhav headed the bench that commuted the death sentences of three men convicted in the 2013 Shakti mills gang rape case to life imprisonment. Justice Jadhav will retire on June 13, 2022.

6. Justice AK Menon was appointed on March 3, 2014; he will retire on July 11, 2022.

7. Justice VG Bisht will retire on July 18, 2022; appointed on December 5, 2019.

8. As of mid-2019 to mid-2021, Justice SS Shinde headed the bench hearing criminal writs. He was appointed in March 2008. During this time, he dealt with a number of high-profile cases, including the investigation into Arnab Goswami's suicide as well as the Television Rating Points (TRP) scam. Varavara Rao was granted first medical bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, and Sudha Bharadwaj was granted first default bail, upholding their fundamental rights to life and health. He pointed out that it was the under trials, not the trials pending in lower courts, that languished in prisons as a result of the COVID pandemic. Justice Shinde made these observations during the hearing of cases in which two boys accused of having joined ISIS were granted bail. As Justice Shinde heard the bail appeals challenging the orders of the Special NIA Court disallowing Father Stan Swamy's bail, the Special NIA court was informed that Swamy had passed away in Holy Family Hospital. While expressing condolences, he appreciated the services Swamy contributed to society. However, he retracted the comment when he realized that his statement might have been interpreted in the media incorrectly.

9. Justice MG Sewlikar: Appointed Dec 5, 2019, will retire Sept 20, 2022.

10. The Justice CV Bhadang was appointed on March 3, 2014; he will retire on November 4, 2022.

11. Justice PV Ganediwala

Aside from these eleven judges, Justice Pushpa Ganediwala's tenure as Additional Judge expires in February 2022, and to date, she has not received any extension or confirmation.

In the Protection Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act matter, Justice Ganediwala rendered the controversial skin-to-skin judgment which was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court.

Next year, the High Court will have twelve vacant seats if her tenure is not extended.