The SC Collegium recommended elevating three HC Chief Justices—Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and Aparesh Kumar Singh—as apex court judges. The move will fill three vacancies, bringing the court’s working strength to 37 out of 38.
The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday the elevation of three High Court Chief Justices as judges of the Supreme Court — Justice Sunita Agarwal of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya of the Delhi High Court and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh of the Telangana High Court.
The recommendations will fill three of the vacancies in the top court, which has a sanctioned strength of 38 judges and currently has 34 judges.
Profiles of Recommended Justices
The Collegium in its meeting took the decision and released a statement saying, “The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 28th September, 2026 has recommended elevation of the following Chief Justices of the High Courts as Judges in the Supreme Court….” Justice Agarwal, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, has been Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court since July 2023. She enrolled as an advocate in 1990 and was elevated to the Allahabad High Court in November 2011. If elevated, she will have nearly five years before reaching the Supreme Court’s retirement age of 65.
Justice Upadhyaya has headed the Delhi High Court since January 2025, after serving as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court from July 2023. He enrolled as an advocate in 1991 and was elevated as a judge of the Allahabad High Court in November 2011. Before his elevation, he served as Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Standing Counsel.
Justice Singh, who is currently Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, was elevated as a judge of the Jharkhand High Court in 2012 after practising before the Patna and Jharkhand High Courts. He later served as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court before taking charge of the Telangana High Court in July 2025.
Next Step in Appointment Process
The Collegium’s recommendations will now be processed by the Union government before the appointments are formally notified.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)