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

The appointments come days after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended their elevation to the Supreme Court.

The Centre has cleared the appointment 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 as judges of the Supreme Court, acting on the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium.

Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments in a post on X, saying the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, had appointed the three Chief Justices as judges of the apex court.

The appointments come days after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended their elevation to the Supreme Court.

Collegium recommendation

“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”, the Collegium said in a statement uploaded on the apex court’s official website.

The recommended names were Justice Agarwal, Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court (Parent High Court: Allahabad); Justice Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court (Parent High Court: Allahabad); and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court (Parent High Court: Jharkhand).

Justice Sunita Agarwal

Justice Agarwal was born on April 30, 1966, and was appointed as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011. She became Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on July 23, 2023.

Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya

Justice Upadhyaya, born on June 16, 1965, was appointed as a puisne Judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011, and became a permanent Judge on August 6, 2013.

He became the Senior Judge of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on March 28, 2023.

Justice Upadhyaya was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and took the oath on July 29, 2023. He was subsequently transferred as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and took the oath of office on January 21, 2025.

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh

Justice Singh, born on July 7, 1965, was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court on January 24, 2012, and was confirmed as a Permanent Judge on January 16, 2014.
He served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court from December 20, 2022, to February 19, 2023.

Justice Singh took the oath as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court on April 17, 2023, and was subsequently transferred as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, where he took the oath on July 19, 2025.

Supreme Court strength

The appointments will further strengthen the Supreme Court following the Centre’s decision earlier this year to increase the sanctioned strength of judges to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India.

(with IANS inputs)

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