Advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan sworn in as additional judge of Bombay HC
With Sundaresan sworn in as additional judge, the Bombay HC will function with 69 judges, including 40 permanent judges and 29 additional judges.
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In February last year, the Supreme Court collegium had first recommended names of ten lawyers including Sundaresan for the post of judges of Bombay High Court. Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya on Tuesday morning administered oath of office to senior advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan as additional judge of Bombay High Court for a period of two years. The central government, last Thursday, had notified Sundaresan’s appointment nearly a year and nine months after he was first recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium.
In February last year, the Supreme Court collegium had first recommended names of ten lawyers including Sundaresan for the post of judges of Bombay High Court. In July, last year, the Centre cleared nine of the 10 names of lawyers except Sundaresan, appointing them additional judges.
Sundaresan was one of the three names, including senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal, for Delhi High Court and advocate R John Sathyan for Madras High Court, that the Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had reiterated, making a strong case by disclosing the government’s objections in January this year.
On Sundaresan, the Collegium statement had said the government had sought reconsideration of his name on grounds “that he has aired his views in social media on several matters, which are the subject matter of consideration before the courts.”
Underlining that all citizens have a right to free speech and expression, the Collegium had said that “expression of views by a candidate does not disentitle him to hold a constitutional office so long as the person proposed for judgeship is a person of competence, merit and integrity.”
A 1996–batch graduate in law from Government Law College, Mumbai, Sundaresan, worked as a journalist for two years before taking up practice, starting with the port sector. As a lawyer, he specialised in financial sector regulation, competition law, company matters and exchange controls.
With Sundaresan sworn in as additional judge, the Bombay HC will function with 69 judges, including 40 permanent judges and 29 additional judges.
However, the sanctioned strength of the court, which is the second largest in the country after the Allahabad HC, stands at 94.
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