PS Narasimha 9th Lawyer To Get Direct Appointment As Supreme Court Judge; Might Also Become CJI

Senior Advocate Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha will swear in as the Judge of the Supreme Court on 31st August 2021. He will be the ninth Supreme Court judge to be directly elevated from the Bar and might also become the Chief Justice of India before his retirement comes due in May 2028.

Narasimha had served as Additional Solicitor General of India from May 2014 to December 2018. He represented the Government in important cases related to the the Italian Marines case, constitutional validity of criminal defamation, NJAC case relating to appointment of Judges. He was earlier appointed by the Supreme Court as a mediator to resolve disputes pertaining to administration of Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). He had also appeared for some of the parties in Ayodhya case. 

As per seniority turn, Narasimha is in line to occupy the post of the Chief Justice of India from October 30, 2027 to May 2028.

Direct Appointment From Bar

As per Article 124 of the Constitution of India, a person is eligible to be appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court if he/she (a) has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or (b) has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or (c) is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. Most of the elevation to Supreme Court happens under category (a). Till date, no 'distinguished jurist' (category (c)) has been appointed as judge of Supreme Court. The appointments of the following judges were under Category (b):

Justice Sarv Mitra Sikri

Justice SM Sikri was the first Judge of the Supreme Court to have been appointed directly from the Bar. He started practice in 1930 before Lahore High Court, and later served as Assistant Advocate-General, Punjab (1949) and Advocate-General, Punjab, (1951-64). Appointed in February 1964, he later became Chief Justice of India in January 1971. He retired on 25 April 1973, a day after he delivered the judgment in Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala. He was also part of the majority judgment in Golak Nath vs. Union of India, which got overruled in Kesavananda.

Justice Subimal Chandra Roy 

Justice SC Roy, one of the first three original side practitioners before the Calcutta High Court to be designated Senior Advocates under s.16(2) of the Advocates Act in 1968, was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on 19th July, 1971. But, he passed away a few months later on 12th November 1971.

Justice Kuldip Singh  

Justice Kuldip Singh, before his appointment as a Supreme Court judge on 14 December 1988,  was a lawyer practicing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court who served as Advocate General, Punjab from May, 1987 to August, 1987. He retired on 21 December 1996.

Justice N. Santosh Hegde 

Justice N. Santosh Hegde was designated as senior Advocate in May, 1984. He served as Advocate General for the State of Karnataka and later as the Solicitor General of India on April 25, 1998. He was appointed as a Judge of Supreme Court on 8 January 1999. He retired on 16 June 2005.

Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Justice Rohinton Nariman was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on July 7, 2014. He had become a Senior Advocate at the young age of 37. He also served as Solicitor General of India. His seven year old tenure came to an end on 12 August, 2021.  (Also read: Justice Rohinton Nariman's Legacy: Notable Judgments On Liberties, Orientation To IBC & Arbitration)

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Justice UU Lalit is currently the senior most judge of the Supreme Court. He was appointed on August 13, 2014. Before elevation, he practiced before the Supreme Court and was designated as Senior Advocate in April, 2004.  He is due to retire on November 8, 2022. He might also become Chief Justice Of India for a brief period.  

Justice L Nageswara Rao

On May 13, 2016, Justice Nageswara Rao became the  7th person elevated directly from the bar to the Supreme Court. His term in the Supreme Court is till June 8, 2022.

Justice Indu Malhotra

Justice Indu Malhotra was the first woman Judge to be elevated directly from the Bar. She joined the legal profession in 1983 and soon made her way to be qualified as an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court. It was in 2007 that she was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court, becoming the second woman to be designated as such by the Apex Court after a gap of over 30 years. She retired on March 13, 2021. (Also read: Important Judgments Of Justice Indu Malhotra)

It is interesting to note that the direct appointment from the bar has seen a surge since 2014. Between 1950-2014, only four judges were appointed directly from the bar.

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