The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended the elevation of Calcutta High Court judge Justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the apex court. According to an official statement, the Collegium on Thursday zeroed in on Justice Bagchi’s name “after carefully evaluating merit, integrity, competence and also accommodating a plurality of considerations”. If the Collegium's recommendation is cleared by the Centre, Justice Bagchi would have a tenure of more than six years in the SC, during which he will also serve as the Chief Justice of India. He would assume the office of CJI upon the retirement of Justice K V Viswanathan on May 25, 2031, and will hold office till October 2, 2031. Justice Bagchi was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta HC on June 27, 2011 and transferred to the Andhra Pradesh HC on January 4, 2021. He was repatriated to the Calcutta HC on November 8, 2021, and has been working there since then. He served as a judge of the High Court for more than 13 years. “During his long tenure as a judge of the High Court, Justice Joymalya Bagchi has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law. After the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir on July 18, 2013 as CJI, there has not been any CJI from the High Court at Calcutta,” said the Collegium statement. “The Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that, at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by only one judge from the High Court at Calcutta. Justice Joymalya Bagchi stands at Sl. No. 11 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court judges, including Chief Justices,” it said. The SC Collegium is headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna. Orissa HC CJ The Collegium also resolved to recommend Justice Harish Tandon of the Calcutta HC as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. The office of Chief Justice of Orissa is currently vacant after the retirement of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh on January 19, 2025. Justice Tandon was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta HC on April 13, 2010. He ranks at serial number 7 in the All-India Seniority of High Court Judges, including Chief Justices. Before his elevation as an HC judge, Justice Tandon practised in civil matters at the Calcutta High Court.
