India, March 10 -- The Union government on Monday appointed justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court, following the recommendation made by the Supreme Court collegium three days ago. Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the elevation of the Calcutta high court judge on X.

With this elevation, justice Bagchi is set to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in May 2031, albeit for a little over four months, before retiring on October 2, 2031. His appointment fills one of the two vacancies in the Supreme Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

The Supreme Court collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and justices Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, had recommen...