Justice Dipankar Datta takes oath as Supreme Court judge

New Delhi, Dec 12: Justice Dipankar Datta, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, took oath as a Supreme Court judge on Monday. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud administered the oath of office to Justice Datta.

The announcement regarding the appointment of Justice Datta as Supreme Court judge was issued by the Department of Justice in the Union Law Ministry on Sunday.

The number of judges on the Supreme Court has now reached 28. The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 members, including the Chief Justice of India.

Justice Datta, who was born on February 9, 1965, turned 57 this year and will serve in the Supreme Court until February 8, 2030, when the retirement age is 65.

The Supreme Court Collegium, chaired by then Chief Justice of India UU Lalit, recommended the promotion of Justice Datta to the Supreme Court on September 26, 2022.

Justice Datta's parent High Court was Calcutta High Court. The parent High Court of a judge is the High Court where the concerned judge was first elevated to the bench.

Justice Datta is the son of the late Justice Salil Kumar Datta, who was a former judge of the Calcutta High Court. He is the brother-in-law of Justice Amitava Roy, who was a former judge of the Supreme Court.

Justice Datta was elevated to the bench of the Calcutta High Court as a permanent judge on June 22, 2006.

He was made the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on April 28, 2020.

He was awarded an LL.B. degree by the University of Calcutta in 1989 and he enrolled as an advocate on November 16, 1989, according to details available on the website of the Calcutta High Court.

He was the junior standing counsel for the State of West Bengal from May 16, 2002 to January 16, 2004 and was also a counsel for the Union of India since 1998, according to a PTI report.

Justice Datta was a guest lecturer on Constitutional Law of India at the University College of Law, University of Calcutta, from 1996-97 to 1999-2000.

(With input from agencies)