Justice Manmohan was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge yesterday, taking the strength of the apex court to thirty-three, which is one judge below the recommended strength of thirty-four judges. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the CJI took oath in the courtroom while Justice Manmohan was earlier heading the Delhi High Court. He said that this elevation has added more strength to the representation of the Delhi High Court in the Supreme Court bench.
Justice Manmohan joined the top court after he received the warrant of his appointment on December 3, as recommended by the Supreme Court collegium in its meeting on November 28. As you are aware, the collegium headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna, including justices Bhushan R. Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy, and Abhay S. Oka, stressed the fact that Justice Manmohan was senior most and represented the region in uttermost north of the country.
The collegium also noted that Justice Manmohan stands second regarding the all-India seniority of the HC judges and is the first in the Delhi HC. His appointment was considered monumental, especially because CJI Khanna has been the only Supreme Court judge fromthe Delhi High Court. It has the practice of judges from the Delhi High Court joining the apex court, including S. Ravindra Bhat, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hima Kohli, who stepped down in September.
Justice Manmohan was born on December 17, 1962, in Delhi; his father, the late Jagmohan, was a distinguished bureaucrat cum politician. He passed out from Modern School, Delhi and has an academic qualification of B.A (Hons) in History, Hindu College, University of Delhi. He completed his law from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University and started practicing in the year 1987 and holds his specialization in Civil and Criminal, Constitutional and Arbitration law. Elevated as a senior advocate in 2003, the Hyderabad Nizam’s Jewellery Trust case was the area of this expertise.
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