NEW DELHI: The Union law ministry notified appointments of three judges for the Supreme Court and six chief justices for High Courts late on Friday, including the elevation of Uttarakhand Chief Justice K M Joseph to the apex court.

The other two elevations to the SC include Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Vineet Saran and Madras HC Chief Justice Indira Banerjee. With Justice Banerjee’s elevation, the apex court will for the first time have three women judges in its 68-year-old history.

The government has also notified appointment of Chief Justices of the High Courts of Orissa, Jharkhand , Madras, Delhi, J&K and Patna.

Justice Gita Mittal, the acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the J&K High Court, becoming the first woman chief justice to head the HC.

Justice Aniruddha Bose, a judge of the Calcutta HC, has been elevated as the chief justice of the Jharkhand HC. He was earlier recommended by the SC collegium for taking over as the CJ of the Delhi HC which the government had returned seeking reconsideration of the collegium on the grounds that being a big HC, it needs an experienced judge to head it.

Justice Rajendra Menon, the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court , has been posted as the new Chief Justice of the Delhi HC; Justice Kalpesh Satyendra Jhaveri, a judge of the Rajasthan HC, has been elevated as the Chief Justice of the Orissa HC in place of Justice Vineet Saran who has been elevated to the Supreme Court.

Justice Vijaya K Tahilramani, a judge of the Bombay HC, has been elevated as the Chief Justice of the Madras HC. She succeeds Justice Indira Banerjee, who has been elevated to the top court. Justice M R Shah of the Gujarat HC has been elevated as Chief Justice of the Patna HC as the incumbent, Justice Menon, will now head the Delhi HC. Justice Hrishikesh Roy of the Kerala HC has been elevated as its Chief Justice.

