The Central government on Wednesday notified the appointment of seven advocates as judges of the Patna High Court, acting on recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium earlier this year.
As per a notification issued by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Advocates Ranjan Kumar Jha, Kumar Manish and Raj Kumar have been appointed as permanent judges of the Patna High Court, while Advocates Rana Vikram Singh, Vikash Kumar, Girijish Kumar and Alok Kumar have been appointed as Additional Judges.
The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and comprising Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice JK Maheshwari, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice MM Sundresh, had recommended the elevation of nine advocates to the Patna High Court in February 2026 after assessing their professional competence, integrity and suitability for appointment to the Bench.
However, the names of Advocates Md Nadim Seraj and Sanjeev Kumar are yet to receive clearance from the Union government. No notification regarding their appointments has been issued so far.
The appointments have been made under the constitutional framework governing judicial appointments to the High Courts and are expected to strengthen the functioning of the Patna High Court, which is presently operating below its sanctioned strength.
At present, the Patna High Court is functioning with 37 judges against a sanctioned strength of 53. With the latest appointments, its working strength will rise to 44 judges, partially addressing the existing vacancies and contributing to improving judicial capacity and case disposal in the High Court.
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