Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Three High Court Chief Justices, None in Line to Be CJI

THE SUPREME COURT COLLEGIUM has recommended the elevation of three Chief Justices of High Courts as judges of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court D.K. Upadhyaya, and Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court Aparesh Kumar Singh have been recommended for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court.

The decision was taken by the Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (‘CJI’) Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath, B.V. Nagarathna, M.M. Sundresh and P.S. Narasimha.

If the Union Government notifies these three appointments, the strength of the Supreme Court will rise to 37 judges, including the CJI. The Supreme Court will still have one clear vacancy.

Justice Sunita Agarwal

Justice Agarwal comes from the Allahabad High Court. She was born on April 30, 1966, and was appointed a judge of that High Court on November 21, 2011. She has been functioning as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court since July 23, 2023. If appointed to the Supreme Court, she will retire on April 29, 2031.

Justice D.K. Upadhyaya

Justice Upadhyaya also comes from the Allahabad High Court. He was born on June 16, 1965, and was appointed a judge of the Allahabad High Court, along with Justice Agarwal, on November 21, 2011. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on July 29, 2023, and was transferred from there as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on January 21, 2025. If appointed to the Supreme Court, he will retire on June 15, 2030.

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh

Justice Singh comes from the Jharkhand High Court. He was born on July 7, 1965. He was appointed a judge of the Jharkhand High Court on January 24, 2012. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court on April 17, 2023, and was transferred as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 19, 2025. If appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, he will retire on July 6, 2030.

None in line to become CJI

None of the three would go on to become Chief Justice of India. With the appointment of Justice Agarwal, the Supreme Court will have three women judges, the others being Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice V. Mohana.

Interestingly, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, who was appointed to the Supreme Court on June 2, 2026, was junior to Justice Singh in inter se seniority, yet Justice Singh was superseded. Now, with Justice Singh being elevated later, he will become junior to Justice Chandrashekhar in the Supreme Court. No reasons are available for Justice Singh’s supersession in June this year.