Centre clears appointment of 14 lawyers as judges of Bombay HC; total strength to reach 83

“In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint S/Shri (i) Siddheshwar Sundarrao Thombre, (ii) Mehroz Ashraf Khan Pathan, (iii) Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale, (iv) Nandesh Shankarrao Deshpande, (v) Amit Satyavan Jamsandekar, (vi) Ashish Sahadev Chavan, (vii) Sandesh Dadasaheb Patil, (viii) Smt. Vaishali Nimbajirao Patil-Jadhav, (ix) Abasaheb Dharmaji Shinde, (x) Shreeram Vinayak Shirsat, (xi) Hiten Shamrao Venegavkar, (xii) Farhan Parvez Dubash, (dii) Rajnish Ratnakar Vyas and (idv) Raj Damodar Wakode, to be Additional Judges of the Bombay High Court for a period of two years with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices,” the Centre’s notification reads.

The list includes Advocate Wakode, who is said to be the son of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai’s cousin, a “distant relative” as described by a lawyer from Nagpur and Advocate Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale. Ranjitsinha is the son of the late Barrister Raja Bhonsale, former advocate general of Maharashtra and judge of the Bombay HC.

After completing his law education, CJI Gavai joined the chambers of Raja Bhonsale, and worked with him till 1987.

Advocate Mehroz Pathan is also CJI’s junior when Justice Gavai was practising as a lawyer.

According to sources, CJI Gavai recused himself from participating in decisions during Collegium meetings on recommendations where he had a direct or indirect interest.

A few of the lawyers who will take oath as judges of the Bombay HC also include Deputy Solicitor General Nandesh Deshpande, Chief Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegavkar, along with advocates Sandesh Patil, Shreeram Shirsat, and Ashish Chavan, who have been representing the Centre, the state government, and their agencies for the last few years.

Besides the principal seat in Mumbai, the Bombay HC at present has benches in Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, Goa, and, along with the recent addition of a circuit bench at Kolhapur.

During the event for the inauguration of the circuit bench in Kolhapur on August 17, CJI Gavai emphasised the need for more judges at the Bombay HC so that the circuit bench can become a permanent bench. He had also indicated increasing the sanctioned strength of the Bombay HC beyond 94, paving the way for the recommendation of more HC judges in the near future, including those from the district judiciary.

On August 19, advocates Ajit Bhagwanrao Kadethankar, Sushil Manohar Ghodeswar, and Aarti Arun Sathe took oath as Additional Judges of the Bombay High Court, taking the total strength of Bombay HC to 69 judges.

The Opposition in Maharashtra had questioned Sathe’s induction, stating she was a former spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s state unit, and that the judiciary was required to be “free and impartial”.