The Centre on Tuesday notified the elevation of Delhi High Court's Chief Justice Manmohan as a judge of the Supreme Court and appointed Justice Vibhu Bakhru as the acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Manmohan, Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India,” said Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on X.

 Once Justice Manmohan takes oath as judge of the top court, the working strength of the top court will rise to 33, one short of the sanctioned strength of 34, which includes the chief justice of India.  The Supreme Court collegium on November 28 recommended the elevation of Justice Manmohan to the top court. The two vacancies in the apex court arose after retirements of Justice Hima Kohli and former CJI D Y Chandrachud.

 Justice Manmohan, 61, is the son of late Jagmohan, a famous bureaucrat-turned politician who also served as the Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. He enrolled as an advocate in 1987 after obtaining a law degree from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru will take over from Chief Justice Manmohan whose elevation to the Supreme Court was cleared on Tuesday. Justice Bakhru was born in Nagpur in 1966 and completed his schooling at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, New Delhi. He pursued a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Delhi University, graduating in 1987, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989.

He later obtained his LL.B degree in 1990 and enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi the same year. Justice Bakhru built a legal practice before various forums, including the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, Company Law Board and other tribunals. In 2013, he was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court before being made a permanent judge on March 18, 2015.