Five Additional Judges Appointed Permanent Judges of Andhra Pradesh High Court

Five additional judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court were sworn in as permanent judges on Monday at a ceremony held on the High Court premises in Amaravati.

Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Lisa Gill, administered the oath of office to Justices Maheswara Rao Kuncham, Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekhar, Challa Gunaranjan, Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma and Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao.

The notification confirming their appointment as permanent judges was read out during the ceremony.

The Supreme Court collegium had approved their elevation as permanent judges at its September 23 meeting. President Droupadi Murmu subsequently issued the appointment orders on September 30.

Justices Kuncham Maheswara Rao, Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekhar and Challa Gunaranjan had initially been appointed additional judges of the High Court in October 2024. Justices Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma and Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao were sworn in as additional judges in January 2025.

Justice Kuncham Maheswara Rao studied law at Sri Venkateswara University and enrolled with the Bar Council of India in 1998. He shifted his practice to the Andhra Pradesh High Court at Hyderabad in 2000 and served as standing counsel for several public sector undertakings and financial institutions.

Justice Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekhar graduated in law from VR Law College, Nellore, and enrolled as an advocate in 1999. Before his elevation to the Bench, he served as government pleader for Commercial Taxes for Andhra Pradesh in the High Court from 2019.

Justice Challa Gunaranjan enrolled as an advocate in 2001 and has represented educational institutions as well as public sector undertakings. He also served as standing counsel for the Medical Council of India between 2011 and 2013.

Justice Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma enrolled as an advocate in 1994 and entered the higher judicial service in 2007 after being selected as a district judge through direct recruitment.

Justice Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao studied law at VR Law College, Nellore, and later obtained a doctorate in law from Andhra University. He served as Additional District and Sessions Judge at Eluru in West Godavari district from February 2014.

With the latest appointments, all five judges move from their earlier status as additional judges to permanent positions on the Andhra Pradesh High Court Bench.