MUMBAI: The Centre on Saturday notified the appointment of six additional judges of the Bombay High Court as permanent judges, strengthening the court’s permanent judicial strength to 56 against a sanctioned strength of 71.Six HC additional judges elevated as permanent judgesA notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice confirmed the elevation of Justices Nivedita Prakash Mehta, Prafulla Surendrakumar Khubalkar, Ashwin Damodar Bhobe, Rohit Wasudeo Joshi, Advait Mahendra Sethna and Pravin Sheshrao Patil as permanent judges of the high court.The notification stated, “In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint S/Shri Justices (i) Ms. Nivedita Prakash Mehta, (ii) Prafulla Surendrakumar Khubalkar, (iii) Ashwin Damodar Bhobe, (iv) Rohit Wasudeo Joshi, (v) Advait Mahendra Sethna and (vi) Pravin Sheshrao Patil, additional judges of the Bombay High Court, to be judges of that High Court with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices.”Justice Patil had been appointed as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on January 27, 2025, while the remaining five judges were elevated as additional judges on October 25, 2024.The latest appointments convert the six judges from additional to permanent status, a significant step in the judicial appointment process. With the Bombay High Court’s sanctioned strength fixed at 71 permanent judges, the notification takes the number of permanent judges in office to 56.The move is expected to provide greater stability to the court’s functioning as it continues to deal with a substantial case load across its principal seat in Mumbai and its benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa.