Chief Justice Lisa Gill administers oath to Justices Kuncham Maheswara Rao, T.C.D. Sekhar, Challa Gunaranjan, A.H.H. Sarma and Y. Lakshmana Rao
Amaravati, Oct 2026: Five additional judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court were sworn in as permanent judges at a ceremony held at the High Court premises here on Monday, marking their formal elevation to the Bench.
Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Lisa Gill administered the oath of office to Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncham, Justice Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekhar, Justice Challa Gunaranjan, Justice Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma and Justice Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, the notification announcing their appointment as permanent judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court was formally read out.
The appointments followed the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium, which, at its meeting on September 23, approved the proposals to appoint the five additional judges as permanent judges of the High Court. President Droupadi Murmu subsequently issued the orders appointing them as judges on September 30.
The five judges had earlier served as additional judges of the High Court. Justices Kuncham Maheswara Rao, Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekhar and Challa Gunaranjan took oath as additional judges on October 28, 2024. Justices Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma and Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao were sworn in as additional judges on January 24, 2025.
Justice Kuncham Maheswara Rao holds Bachelor of Academic Laws and Bachelor of Laws degrees from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, and enrolled with the Bar Council of India on February 17, 1998. He shifted his legal practice to the Andhra Pradesh High Court at Hyderabad in 2000. During his legal career, he served as standing counsel for several public sector undertakings, including the Food Corporation of India, Central Warehousing Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, United India Insurance Company and New India Assurance Company.
Justice Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekhar obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from VR Law College, Nellore, and enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh on March 11, 1999. He served as Government Pleader for Commercial Taxes in the Andhra Pradesh High Court from September 2019 until his elevation to the Bench.
Justice Challa Gunaranjan completed his graduation and law studies in Hyderabad and enrolled as an advocate in 2001. He served as standing counsel for the Medical Council of India between 2011 and 2013 and represented several educational institutions before the High Court. He also appeared as special counsel for various public sector undertakings of the Government of India before tribunals and the High Court.
Justice Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from VR Law College, Nellore, affiliated with Sri Venkateswara University. He enrolled as an advocate on March 2, 1994, and was later selected through direct recruitment as a district judge, joining the higher judicial service in 2007.
Justice Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao obtained his law degree from VR Law College, Nellore, and later earned a doctorate in law from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. He served as Additional District and Sessions Judge at Eluru in West Godavari district from February 25, 2014, before his elevation to the High Court.
