New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended elevation of five sitting high court judges as chief justices of various high courts to address vacancies stemming from upcoming retirements and transfers.
The recommendations were finalised on 18 December at a meeting of the SC Collegium—comprising the top court’s five seniormost judges—and will take effect subject to approval by the Union government.
This marks the first set of recommendations made by the Collegium headed by Justice Surya Kant in his capacity as Chief Justice of India.
According to the statement, Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta, currently a judge of the Allahabad HC, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand HC. The vacancy will arise upon the retirement of Chief Justice Guhanathan Narendar on 9 January, 2026.
The SC Collegium has also proposed the appointment of Justice Revati P. Mohite Dere of the Bombay HC as Chief Justice of the Meghalaya HC. This follows the proposed transfer of the incumbent Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, Justice Soumen Sen.
Justice M.S. Sonak, another judge of the Bombay HC, has been recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand HC. The position is slated to fall vacant following the retirement of Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan on 8 January, 2026.
Additionally, the SC Collegium has recommended Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque, presently serving as a judge of the Kerala HC, for appointment as Chief Justice of the Sikkim HC. It has also proposed that Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo of the Orissa HC, be elevated as Chief Justice of Patna HC.
Besides these appointments, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the transfer of Justice Soumen Sen, currently the Chief Justice of Meghalaya HC, as Chief Justice of the Kerala HC. This recommendation has been made in anticipation of the retirement of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar of the Kerala HC on 9 January, 2026.
Justice Soumen Sen had landed in the public eye in January 2024, when the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of an order passed by a single judge bench of the Calcutta HC led by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay. In that order, Justice Gangopadhyay described as “illegal and ignored” an earlier order of a division bench comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar in a case relating to alleged irregularities in MBBS admissions in state-run medical colleges and hospitals in West Bengal.
Justice Sen was transferred from the Calcutta HC in October 2025 to take charge as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya HC.
Justice Gangopadhyay later resigned from his position as a judge of the Calcutta HC ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party less than two days of stepping down.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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