The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended the appointment of Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Gujarat High Court judge Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala as judges in the top court, Live Law reported.

The Supreme Court currently has 32 judges. The appointment of Dhulia and Pardiwala will result in a full strength of 34 judges.

The five-member Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana also consists of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao.

Since August 2021, the Collegium has recommended 11 names for elevation to the Supreme Court, including Justice BV Nagarathna, who is in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India, The Hindu reported.

The apex court will have more vacancies, with Justice Vineet Saran retiring on May 10, Justice L Nageswara Rao on June 7 and Justice AM Khanwilkar on July 29, according to LiveLaw. Ramana and Justices Indira Banerjee and UU Lalit are also set to retire between August and November.

If appointed, Pardiwala will be the first judge from a minority community to be elevated to the Supreme Court in five years, according to The Hindu. Justice S Abdul Nazeer was appointed in 2017.

Born on August 12, 1956 in Mumbai, Justice Pardiwala is from a family of lawyers. His father Burjor Cawasji Pardiwala also briefly served as the speaker of Gujarat Assembly. Pardiwala graduated from obtained a law degree from KM Law College in Valsad in 1988. He was confirmed as a permanent judge in the Gujarat High Court on January 28, 2013.

Meanwhile, Justice Dhulia took oath as the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court on January 10, 2021. He was born on August 10, 1960, and graduated from the Allahabad University in 1981. He served as a permanent judge of the Uttarakhand High Court on November 1, 2008.