Centre gives nod to appoint 5 lawyers as additional judges of Bombay High Court

Last month, Supreme Court collegium of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bhushan R Gavai recommended the elevation of the five lawyers.

“In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following advocates as additional judges of the Bombay High Court,” the Minister of State (MoS), Law and Justice (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal posted on X on Wednesday.

Mehta has practised for 31 years in civil, constitutional, service, municipal, labour and criminal laws and also represented the Maharashtra government for 11 years before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.

Khubalkar has over 27 years of experience as an advocate dealing with civil, constitutional, service and arbitration matters, largely before the Nagpur bench of the High Court. The collegium had noted that as he belonged to OBC category, his elevation will provide greater representation to the said classes in the higher judiciary.

Bhobe has practised as an advocate for over 26 years, mainly before the Goa bench of the HC, district courts and tribunals in the state of Goa.

As per SC collegium, Joshi, who belongs to Nagpur bench of HC, has practised for over 26 years in civil, criminal, constitutional, labour and service cases and also appeared for a public sector undertaking (PSU).

Sethna has over 20 years of practice before the principal seat of High Court in Mumbai and has represented Maharashtra and central governments as a panel lawyer. Sethna has also dealt with matters related to intellectual property rights, environmental disputes, constitutional law, taxation, Armed Forces Tribunal among others.