The central government has approved the elevation of Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, and Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, to the Supreme Court of India. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments on X, stating that the President made the decision after consulting with the Chief Justice of India.

With these appointments, the Supreme Court will reach its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges. The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari, and B.V. Nagarathna, had recommended the elevations on August 25. The Centre fast-tracked the decision, notifying the elevation of the judges within two days.

Justice Aradhe's Career Highlights

Justice Aradhe was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2009 and became a permanent judge in 2011. In 2016, he was transferred to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, where he served as Acting Chief Justice for three months in 2018. He was then appointed as a judge of the Karnataka High Court on November 17, 2018, and served as its acting Chief Justice for a few months in 2022.

Justice Pancholi's Career and Dissent

Justice Vipul Pancholi was appointed as an additional judge of the Gujarat High Court on October 1, 2014, and confirmed as a permanent Judge on June 10, 2016. His transfer to the Patna High Court from Gujarat was met with opposition from the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA). The GHCAA communicated to the then Chief Justice of India that Justice Pancholi possessed all the qualities of a good judge and had disposed of over 35,000 matters. Despite the opposition, the transfer was carried out.

Notably, Justice Nagarathna dissented from the Collegium's recommendation to elevate Justice Pancholi. Justice Nagarathna cited Justice Pancholi's 57th rank in the all-India list of seniority of high court judges and raised concerns about regional representation, as his appointment would mean three judges from Gujarat would be in the Supreme Court, potentially disadvantaging other High Courts. She also referred to the circumstances of Justice Pancholi's transfer from the Gujarat to the Patna High Court. Justice Nagarathna felt that having another judge from the same high court would skew the balance and pointed out that many high courts remained unrepresented or under-represented in the apex court.

Future CJI

Justice Pancholi is in line to become the Chief Justice of India from October 2, 2031, succeeding Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and will continue in the post until May 27, 2033.