Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Sudhanshu Dhulia and Gujarat High Court Judge Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala have been appointed as new Supreme Court judges, the Centre said on Saturday. With this, the court will function with the sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

“In exercise of the power conferred by clause 2 of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the High Court Chief Justice and a Judge, as Judges of the Supreme Court of India with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices,” a statement read.

Justice Pardiwala is the first judge from the Parsi community to be elevated to the Supreme Court in five years. Justice S Abdul Nazeer was appointed in 2017.

Pardiwala is in line to become the Chief Justice of India in May 2028, the Hindustan Times reported.

On May 5, a Supreme Court Collegium had made recommendations for the appointment of Dhulia and Pardiwala.

The five-member Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, consists of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit, AM Khanwilkar, DY 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 court will have more vacancies, with Justice Vineet Saran retiring on May 10, Justice Rao on June 7 and Justice Khanwilkar on July 29. Ramana and Justices Indira Banerjee and UU Lalit are also set to retire between August and November.J