Correct Answer :   Justice Prasanna B Varale

---

Karnataka High Court Chief Justice "Prasanna B Varale" on Thursday (25th Jan 2024) took oath as judge of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud administered the oath of office to Justice Varale in a function on the Supreme Court premises in New Delhi.

With Justice Varale's appointment, the top court has now attained its full strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. The top court was short of one judge after the retirement of justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on December 25.

Justice Varale's appointment as a Supreme Court judge was announced by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday (24th Jan 2024).

The Supreme Court collegium on 19 January 2024 recommended justice Varale’s elevation noting the judge has acquired considerable experience as a judge of the Bombay high court where he was appointed in 2008, and as the chief justice of the Karnataka high court.

“While recommending his name, the collegium has taken into consideration the fact that among the high court judges, he is the senior-most Judge belonging to a scheduled caste and the only chief justice belonging to a scheduled caste among the chief justices of high courts across the country,” the collegium, which also comprised justices Sanjiv Khanna, Bhushan R Gavai, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, said in its resolution on the day.

With Justice Varale’s elevation, the Supreme Court will for the first time have three judges from the Scheduled Caste category, including justices Gavai and CT Ravikumar.

Who is Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale?

* Justice Varale was born on 23 June 1962 at Nipani in Karnataka. He graduated in Arts and Law from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. He enrolled as an Advocate in 1985.

* He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in July 2008 and became a permanent judge three years later.

* Varale served as a judge in the Bombay High Court for a tenure of 14 years and was subsequently appointed as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court in October 2022.

* Distinguished as the sole Chief Justice among High Courts hailing from the Scheduled Caste, he proudly asserts his birth in a family "blessed by Dr B R Ambedkar.".

Source : Hindustan Times