President Pratibha Patil has appointed the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Dipak Misra, and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Jasti Chelameswar, as Supreme Court judges. Mr. Justice Misra, who will complete 58 years of age this month, represents Orissa. He was appointed the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court in December 2009 and transferred to the Delhi High Court as Chief Justice in May 2010. He will have a tenure of about seven years, and an opportunity to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI). In that event, he will be the third judge from Orissa to adorn the highest judicial office, after Rangnath Misra and G.B. Patnaik.
Justice Chelameswar, 58, representing Andhra Pradesh, will fill the place of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, who retired in July. He was appointed the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in May 2007 and then shifted as the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court in March 2010. He will also have a tenure of about seven years in the Supreme Court.
Justice J.M. Panchal, hailing from Gujarat, is due to retire on October 5. Justice R.V. Raveendran, who hails from Karnataka, is retiring on October 14.
