New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): The Supreme Court is set to welcome three new judges after the Central Government on Monday notified the appointments of Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh to the apex court.
Union Minister of State for Law and Justice (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the notification on social media platform X.
With these elevations, the working strength of the Supreme Court will rise to 37 against its sanctioned capacity of 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. The appointments will also augment the representation of women on the apex bench from two to three with the induction of Justice Sunita Agarwal.
The recommendations were finalized on September 28, 2026, by a five-member Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, alongside Justices Vikram Nath, B.V. Nagarathna, M.M. Sundresh, and P.S. Narasimha.
Concurrently, the Centre notified the elevation of Delhi Higher Judicial Service officer Gurvinder Pal Singh as a judge of the Delhi High Court. His appointment had previously been held in abeyance, drawing criticism over alleged selective clearance of judicial recommendations.
Profiles of the Elevated Judges
- Justice Sunita Agarwal: Hailing from the Allahabad High Court, Justice Agarwal earned her law degree from Awadh University in 1989 and joined the legal profession in December 1990. She was elevated as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court in November 2011 and took charge as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in July 2023. Her tenure on the Supreme Court bench will continue until April 2031.
- Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya: Also originating from the Allahabad High Court, Justice Upadhyaya completed his law degree from Lucknow University before enrolling as an advocate in May 1991. He served as the Chief Standing Counsel for the Uttar Pradesh government from May 2007 until his elevation to the bench in November 2011. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in July 2023 and subsequently transferred to lead the Delhi High Court in January 2025.
- Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh: Justice Singh’s parent high court is the Jharkhand High Court. An alumnus of Delhi University’s Faculty of Law, he enrolled as an advocate in 1990 and practiced before the Patna High Court and the Jharkhand High Court prior to his judicial elevation in 2012. After serving as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, he became Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court in April 2023 and was later transferred to head the Telangana High Court in July 2025.
