Centre notifies appointment of three High Court Chief Justices as Supreme Court judges

The three judges are Justice Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court; Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court; and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

Their appointments come days after the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, recommended their elevation at its meeting held on September 28.

The Collegium had said that it had recommended the three Chief Justices for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court.

The appointments will strengthen the top court, which has a sanctioned strength of 38.

Justice Sunita Agarwal will be the third woman judge currently in the Supreme Court following her appointment. She was elevated to the Allahabad High Court in 2011 and became a permanent judge in 2013. She took the oath as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in July 2023.

Justice Agarwal had practised on the civil side before her elevation to the Bench and enrolled as an advocate in 1990.

Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who has been heading the Delhi High Court since January 2025, will also move to the Supreme Court. He was earlier Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, having assumed office there in July 2023.

Justice Upadhyaya was elevated to the Allahabad High Court in 2011 and became a permanent judge in August 2013. Before his elevation, he served as Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh.

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, meanwhile, brings extensive judicial experience from Jharkhand, Tripura and Telangana. He was elevated as a judge of the Jharkhand High Court in January 2012 and was confirmed as a permanent judge in January 2014.

He subsequently served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court before becoming Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court in April 2023. He was transferred to the Telangana High Court and took oath as its Chief Justice in July 2025. (ANI)