New Delhi/Kataka: The Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday approved the proposal to appoint four advocates—Sasmita Tripathy, Aditya Narayan Das, Rajjeet Roy, and Gautam Misra—as judges of Orissa High Court.
Among them, Sasmita Tripathy is an advocate practising in the Supreme Court.
This crucial step addresses the severe shortage at the Orissa High Court, which currently operates with only 17 judges against its sanctioned strength of 33, leaving almost 50 per cent of its positions vacant. The Collegium, on August 6, recommended transferring Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak to the Gujarat High Court and Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra to the Chhattisgarh High Court. These transfers further exacerbated existing shortage of judges, compounding the strain on a bench already grappling with heavy caseloads.
On Monday, the Orissa High Court Bar Association had appealed to the Supreme Court Collegium for expedited, time-bound appointments to prevent the administration of justice from grinding to a halt.
