President appoints 12 Additional Judges as Permanent Judges across four High Courts
The President has appointed 12 Additional Judges as Judges of the High Courts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttaranchal and Gauhati under Article 217(1) of the Constitution of India. The appointments include five Judges each from the Andhra Pradesh and Kerala High Courts, one from the Uttaranchal High Court and one from the Gauhati High Court.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court appointments include Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam, Justice Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekar, Justice Challa Gunaranjan, Justice Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma and Dr. Justice Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao. The Kerala High Court appointments comprise Justice Parameswara Panicker Krishna Kumar, Justice Kodassery Veliyath Madom Jayakumar, Justice Muralee Krishna Shankaramoole, Justice Jobin Sebastian and Justice Pandikkaran Varadaraja Iyer Balakrishnan. Justice Subhash Upadhyay has been appointed to the Uttaranchal High Court and Justice Kaushik Goswami to the Gauhati High Court.
The Ministry of Law and Justice notified the appointments on 1 October 2026. The judges will assume their permanent positions on the dates they officially take charge of their offices.
