Kolkata, March 10 -- The Central government has approved the appointment of Calcutta High Court judge Justice Joymalya Bagchi as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court announced that three advocates Smita Das De, Reetobroto Kumar Mitra, and Om Narayan Rai will be sworn in as additional judges of the court on March 11.

A notification dated March 10 from the Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Justice (Appointments Division) read that the President of India is pleased to appoint Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Judge of Calcutta High Court to be a judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote on X: "Congratulations to Shri Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Hon'ble Judge of the Calcutta High Court, for being appointed today by the Hon'ble President of India as an Hon'ble Judge of the Supreme Court of India. The appointment makes us proud. Best wishes to Justice Bagchi for a glorious innings ahead." The Collegium is learnt to have considered the fact that after the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir on July 18, 2013 as Chief Justice of India (CJI), there has not been any CJI from the Calcutta HC.

With the appointment as top court judge, Justice Bagchi is set to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in May 2031. However, his tenure would remain short, for over four months, before retiring on October 2, 2031. On June 27, 2011, Justice Bagchi was first appointed as a judge of the Calcutta HC, where he remained for most of the next decade till he went to serve a short stint at Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Justice Bagchi was born in Calcutta on October 3, 1966. He began his law career in 1991 when he stood first in the LLB examinations and graduated from Calcutta University. He enrolled as an advocate in November 1991 and began practising at the Calcutta High Court where he specialised in both criminal and constitutional law matters. During his career as an advocate at the high court, Justice Bagchi argued against the West Bengal government's ban on Taslima Nasreen's book 'Dwikhondito' in 2003. He was also an empanelled advocate for the Centre and the West Bengal government.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.