Three new judges took oath of office in the Delhi High Court Monday even as the executive committee of the Bar Association opposed the appointment of one of them.
Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri administered the oath to Justice R.V. Easwar, Justice Pratibha Rani and Justice Sat Paul Garg.
Opposing Justice Easwar’s appointment, Bar Association secretary D.K. Sharma said: “We opposed his elevation earlier also. Therefore, today we boycotted the oath function.”
He added that the bar association’s plea on the issue was pending before the Supreme Court.
In April, a division bench of the high court had dismissed the bar association’s plea that Easwar, who was earlier with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, was not eligible to be a high court judge.
“The members of ITAT are not an integral part of the judicial service as defined by the constitution and they have been appointed as per the Income Tax Act,” said Sharma.
Justice Easwar was posted in Mumbai before joining the high court. Justice Patibha Rani and Justice Garg are from Delhi district courts.
With the appointment of three new judges, the strength of the high court judges has gone up to 36 against a sanctioned strength of 48.
Additional Judge Rajiv Shakdher, appointed to the high court in April 2008, has been confirmed a permanent judge.
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