14 New Additional Judges Appointed to Bombay HC
The list of the appointed judges also contains Raj Damodar Wakode, who is reportedly the nephew of the Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai.
Additional - Judges - Taxscan
Additional - Judges - Taxscan
The Central Government has notified the appointment of 14 advocates as Additional Judges of the Bombay High Court, following recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium on August 19, 2025.
The news was given through a press note issued by the Press Information Bureau on 28 August, 2025 confirming the appointments after the President’s approval. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also announced the development publicly on X.
How to Compute Income from Salary with Tax Planning, Click Here
The appointments follow the Memorandum of Procedure for High Court judges, involving consultations among the Chief Justice of the High Court, the Governor, the Union Government and the Supreme Court Collegium.
The names of the newly appointed judges are as follows:
- Siddheshwar Sundarrao Thombre - Advocate at the Aurangabad bench.
- Mehroz Ashraf Khan Pathan - a Nagpur-based practitioner who has appeared across writs and appeals; reported to have been a junior to current Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai earlier on in his career.
- Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale - a Mumbai-based advocate who has handled civil and constitutional matters
- Nandesh Shankarrao Deshpande - Served as Assistant Solicitor General of India at the Nagpur bench, representing the Union and State in multiple matters.
- Amit Satyavan Jamsandekar - Senior commercial and intellectual property lawyer; non-practising Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
- Ashish Sahadev Chavan
- Sandesh Dadasaheb Patil
- Vaishali Nimbajirao Patil-Jadhav
- Abasaheb Dharmaji Shinde
- Shreeram Vinayak Shirsat - Special Prosecutor who has appeared for central agencies including the CBI, NIA and ED.
- Hiten Shamrao Venegavkar – Presently Public Prosecutor of Maharashtra, who has previously represented the ED and CBI in high-profile cases.
- Farhan Parvez Dubash - Senior civil lawyer and Secretary of the Bombay Bar Association.
- Rajnish Ratnakar Vyas
- Raj Damodar Wakode - Wakode is reportedly the nephew of current Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai.
Know Practical Aspects of Tax Planning, Click Here
The appointment of Raj Damodar Wakode has drawn attention because he is related to the Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, being the son of the CJI’s cousin and who has often been referred to as his nephew.
Media reports noted that CJI Gavai recused himself from deliberations on Wakode’s elevation, with the collegium being reconstituted to consider his name. Former Supreme Court judge Abhay S. Oka observed that while it is not legally wrong to recommend a relative of a collegium member if proper recusal is made by the relative within the collegium; however, the process should be documented transparently and placed in the public domain to maintain the credibility of the institution.
The sanctioned strength of the Bombay High Court is 94. With the swearing-in of these 14 advocates, the working strength is expected to rise from 69 to 83, making it one of the highest in recent years and easing the mounting caseload of the court.
Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscanpremium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
