Centre notifies justices kotishwar singh r mahadevan's appointment as supreme court judges

Centre notifies justices kotishwar singh r mahadevan's appointment as supreme court judges

Singh was appointed as Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on February 12, last year and took oath of office on February 15.

Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday said that President Droupadi Mumru has appointed justices H N Kotiswar Singh and R Mahadevan as judges of the Supreme Court.

While Justice Singh is currently serving as the chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, R Mahadevan is a judge in the Madras high court.

Singh was appointed as the Chief Justice last February. He took the oath of office on February 15, 2023. He is the first from the northeastern state of Manipur to become an SC judge.

His name was recommended by the Collegium led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy unanimously on July 12.

Born on March 1, 1963, in Imphal of Manipur, Justice Singh is the son of Justice N Ibotombi Singh of the Gauhati high court, who served as Manipur’s first Advocate General and N Gomati Devi.

He practised briefly before the Supreme Court of India before transitioning to the Gauhati high court. Recognised as a senior advocate by the Gauhati High Court in 2008, Justice Singh was appointed as an additional judge of the Gauhati High Court in 2011 and elevated to the position of permanent judge in 2012.

He was appointed as a judge of the Manipur High Court when it was established in 2013. In 2018, he was transferred to the Gauhati High Court before being promoted to the position of Chief Justice.

With his appointment, after over 50 years of statehood, Manipur has for the first-time secured representation in the apex court.

Meanwhile, Justice R Mahadevan is the acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court and belongs to the backward class. He completed his law degree from Madras Law College and began practising as a lawyer in 1989.

For 25 years, he specialised in civil, criminal, and writ cases with a focus on indirect taxes, customs, and central excise matters. He was appointed as a judge of the Madras High Court in 2013.