Supreme Court Collegium approves four new Orissa High Court judges

The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the appointment of four new judges to the Orissa High Court. The approved candidates are senior advocates Sasmita Tripathy, Aditya Narayan Das, Rajjeet Roy, and Gautam Misra.

Despite these appointments, the court faces a significant shortage of judicial personnel. The sanctioned strength of the Orissa High Court is 33 judges, but there are currently only 17. Furthermore, the Collegium has recommended the transfer of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak to the Gujarat High Court and Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra to the Chhattisgarh High Court.

If these transfers are implemented and the four new appointments are finalized, the total number of judges will reach 19, leaving 14 positions vacant. The Orissa High Court Bar Association has noted that the shortage of judges is impacting the court's hearing and decision-making processes.