Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari has been appointed Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, the Law Ministry said on Thursday.
Justice Bhandari had taken over as the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court after the transfer of Justice Sanjib Banerjee to the Meghalaya High Court in November last year.
The Law Ministry also notified the appointment of a total of 13 advocates and three judicial officers as judges of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh High Courts.
While three advocates each were appointed to the Orissa and Madhya Pradesh High Courts, seven advocates were elevated to the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Three judicial officers were appointed as judges of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
After a total of 120 judges were appointed last year, Thursday’s list of judicial appointments was the first batch this year.
411 vacancies
On Thursday, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a written reply, informed the Rajya Sabha that as on February 4, against the sanctioned strength of 1,098 judges in High Courts, 687 judges were posted, leaving 411 vacancies to be filled.
“At present, 172 proposals are at various stages of processing between the government and the Supreme Court Collegium. Further recommendations from High Court Collegiums are yet to be received in respect of remaining 239 vacancies in High Courts,” the Law Minister said.
