Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad was on Monday sworn-in as the judge of the Supreme Court after the apex court collegium found that the allegations of corruption against him were baseless. He was administered the oath of secrecy by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan at a simple ceremony in the apex court in the presence of other judges. Several senior advocates and lawyers were present during the oath ceremony. With his appointment, the total strength of the judges in the Supreme Court has gone upto 27 against the sanctioned strength of 31. The Supreme Court collegium in November last recommended the elevation of Allahabad High Court Chief Justice as the Supreme Court judge. However, the government returned the file seeking clarifications on allegations of corruption against Prasad. The collegium examined the allegations and found them baseless and returned the file to the Law Ministry for processing the appointment. Under the Memorandum of Procedure, once the collegium confirms its recommendation and sends back the file, the President is bound to accept it. The President then cleared the appointment of Prasad as Supreme Court Judge.