Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra today administered the oath to two Additional Judges — Justice Harmeet Singh Grewal and Justice Deepinder Singh Nalwa — as permanent judges of the court.

The oath was administered at a simple yet impressive ceremony attended by sitting and retired judges, bureaucrats, relatives and members of the legal fraternity.

The Supreme Court Collegium had last month approved the proposal for confirming the two judges, paving the way for the Centre to issue the formal warrants of appointment. The development comes at a time when the Punjab and Haryana High Court –– one of the country’s busiest high courts –– continues to grapple with a substantial shortage of judges. Against a sanctioned strength of 85 judges, the high court presently has only 55 judges, leaving nearly one-third of the sanctioned posts vacant.

The high court is currently awaiting the appointment of 10 advocates whose names have already been cleared by the SC Collegium for elevation to the Bench.