In a proud and historic moment for Nagpur’s legal fraternity, Justice Atul S. Chandurkar was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on Friday, becoming the eighth legal luminary from the city to reach the nation’s highest court. Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud administered the oath at a ceremonial event in New Delhi.
What makes this milestone even more special is that, for the first time, two sitting Supreme Court judges are from Nagpur—Justice Chandurkar now joins CJI Bhushan Gavai, who also hails from the Orange City.
Justice Atul S. Chandurkar’s elevation to the Supreme Court comes as part of a recent round of appointments to the apex court. On Thursday, the Union Government issued an official notification announcing the appointment of three new judges, following President Droupadi Murmu’s approval of the recommendations made by the Supreme Court collegium on May 26. Alongside Justice Chandurkar, the other appointees include Justice N.V. Anjaria, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, and Justice Vijay Bishnoi, Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal confirmed the appointments on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint…”
Born on April 7, 1965, Justice Atul S. Chandurkar began his legal career in 1988. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court on June 21, 2013, and has since handled numerous important civil and constitutional cases. His elevation to the Supreme Court comes at a crucial time, restoring representation from the Bombay High Court after the recent retirement of Justice A.S. Oka.
Eighth Judge from Nagpur to join Apex Court
Justice Atul Chandurkar is the eighth judge from Nagpur to be appointed to the Supreme Court. The first was Justice Vivian Bose, who served from March 5, 1951, to June 8, 1956. Following him, Justice M. Hidayatullah was elevated in 1958 and later became the Chief Justice of India in 1968. Justice Hidayatullah also served as Vice President of India in 1979 and as Acting President in 1982 after President V.V. Giri resigned to contest elections. Another notable judge from Nagpur was Justice Janardan Mudholkar, who served on the Supreme Court from 1960 to 1966.
Justice A.P. Sen was another distinguished jurist from Nagpur, elevated to the Supreme Court in 1978. Justice Vikas Sirpurkar followed in 2007, and later Justice Sharad Bobde became Chief Justice of India. Recently, Justice Bhushan Gavai, the seventh Nagpurian to join the Supreme Court, took oath as Chief Justice of India. Thus, Nagpur has produced three Chief Justices of India so far. Although Justice Prasanna Warale was not originally from Nagpur, he served the longest tenure in Nagpur as a judge of the Bombay High Court before his elevation to the Supreme Court.
👉 Click here to read the latest Gujarat news on TheLiveAhmedabad.com