President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday appointed Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna as Supreme Court judges, notwithstanding a controversy surrounding the Collegium decision by which three judges were superseded.
Justice Maheshwari is the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court while Justice Khanna is a judge of the Delhi High Court.
The Supreme Court Collegium on January 10 recommended their elevation.
The Collegium decision got mired in a major controversy, with former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha and some others from the judicial fraternity raising questions.
Bar Council of India, while commenting on the elevation of High Court judges Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna to the Supreme Court, said its delegation will meet the Collegium to ask for recall of the decision and "If they don't do it, we'll sit on a dharna."
The apex court is presently functioning with 26 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 31, leaving five clear vacancies.