Kolkata, 06 August (H.S.): The Calcutta High Court is set to receive eight new judges following the Centre's approval of their appointments, marking the first time in more than two decades that such a large number of judges have been appointed to the court simultaneously. The newly appointed judges are likely to be sworn in next Tuesday.

According to official sources, the Supreme Court Collegium had, on May 12, recommended the names of nine advocates for appointment as judges of the Calcutta High Court. The President of India has now approved the appointment of eight of them, a move expected to partially address the long-standing shortage of judges in the High Court.

The newly appointed judges are Aryak Dutta, Atarup Bandyopadhyay, Sandeep Dey, Parthasarathi Roy, Sudip Dev, Anuj Singh, Arjun Ray Mukhopadhyay, and Nishad Madera.

With their induction, the strength of judges in the Calcutta High Court will rise to 49, against the sanctioned strength of 72, leaving several vacancies still to be filled.

Legal experts have welcomed the appointments, noting that an increase in judicial strength is essential to meet the growing workload of the High Court. The Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench is now functioning on a regular basis, requiring the deployment of four judges every fortnight, while judges also have to be deputed periodically to the Port Blair Circuit Bench. The additional appointments are expected to improve the court's functioning and help expedite the disposal of pending cases.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh