SC Collegium Appoints Justice Joymalya Bagchi as a Jugde at Apex Court

Former Calcutta High Court judge, Justice Joymalya Bagchi was sworn in as a new judge of the Supreme Court on Monday. The swearing-in ceremony was conducted by Chief Justice of India, Sanjeev Khanna, who also recommended his name on March 6, 2025 “after carefully evaluating merit, integrity, competence, and also accommodating a plurality of considerations.”. The SC collegium is headed by chief CJI Khanna and decided to point Bagchi also because, at present, the bench of the Supreme Court only has one judge from the Calcutta High Court. 

Justice Bakshi will have a tenure of more than six years in the Supreme Court during which he will also serve as the Chief Justice of India from May 25, 2031 to October 2031.

Judicial History

Justice Bagchi was appointed as a judge of the Calcutta High Court in 2011. Later in 2021, he was transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court but was repatriated to the Calcutta High Court in the same year. He has been working there since then and has served as a High Court judge for more than 13 years now, in total.

In the collegium’s statement while recommending justice Bagchi stated that, “ during his tenure as a judge of the High Court, Justice Joymalya Bagchi has acquired significant experience in fields of law. After the retirement of Justice Altamas Kabir on July 18, 2013, as CJI, there has not been any CJI even from the High Court at Calcutta.”