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Delhi HC gets two new judges; total strength now at 37

Jan 08, 2025 10:29 AM IST

In August 2024, the SC collegium had recommended the elevation of advocates Ajay Digpaul, Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar as judges of the Delhi high court

Advocates Ajay Digpaul and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, on Wednesday, took oath as Delhi high court judges, taking the court’s strength to 37 against the sanctioned 60 judges. Acting chief justice Vibhu Bakhru administered oath to the two advocates.

Their appointment was notified by the Union government on Monday. (Delhi HC website)
Their appointment was notified by the Union government on Monday. (Delhi HC website)

Their appointment was notified by the Union government on Monday, nearly four months after they were recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.

In August 2024, the Supreme Court collegium had recommended the elevation of advocates Ajay Digpaul, Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar as judges of the Delhi high court, underscoring their professional competence, integrity and specialised expertise.

While recommending Ajay Digpaul, the three-member collegium had taken note of his experience of 31 years of practice in various fields of law including civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, company, service and commercial law and his appearances in 42 reported judgements.

The collegium recommended Vaidyanathan’s name for elevation as high court judge taking into consideration his extensive practice, reflected by 180 reported judgements. His average annual professional income of 162.16 lakh over the past five years further underscored his standing in the legal community.

Also Read: Supreme Court welcomes two new judges, marks historic first for Manipur

In his capacity as an advocate Digpaul had served as standing counsel for the Central government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) before the Delhi high court.

Born in Delhi, Shankar, son of senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, completed his graduation from Faculty of Law, Campus Law Centre and pursued his post graduation in international law from University of Warwick, England. He had commenced his practice as a junior of noted lawyers including Soli Sorabjee, KK Venugopal. Before being elevated as a judge, Shankar served as a centre’s standing counsel and as a public prosecutor in the Godhra riots case.

Though the Centre cleared Digpaul’s and Shankar’s name, it kept the files of advocate Shwetashree Majumdar and Tejas Karia, as judges of the Delhi high court, pending. Majumdar’s name was recommended by the Supreme Court collegium on the same day, August 8, when the collegium had recommended Digpaul’s and Shankar’s name.

While pitching Majumdar’s name for elevation, the collegium had cited her as a seasoned lawyer in intellectual property rights (IPR) and the founder of a law firm, with over 21 years of experience.

Similarly, while recommending Karia’s name was subsequently, later that month, the three-member collegium comprising of the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud (now retired), justice Sanjeev Khanna (currently serving as CJI) and justice BR Gavai, had said that his addition to the bench would be a value addition.

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Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.
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