New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, Monday approved two names for fresh appointments to the top court. Incidentally, neither of them is a woman judge.
The two names cleared are Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi. While Justice Aradhe is number five in seniority, Justice Pancholi will supersede as many as 21 Chief Justices who were appointed to the judiciary before him.
Three women judges—Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, Justice Revati Prashant Mohite Dere of the Bombay High Court, and Justice Lisa Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court—are also senior to him in terms of appointment.
The Collegium comprises Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari and B.V. Nagarathna.
Originally from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Aradhe was appointed as a judge on 29 December 2009 and transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on 20 September 2016. He was transferred to the Karnataka High Court in November 2018 and became the Acting Chief Justice there from July to October 2022.
On 19 July 2023, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court and was subsequently transferred to the Bombay High Court on 21 January 2025.
In the Supreme Court, he will remain in office till 12 April 2029. With his appointment, the Supreme Court will now have three judges from the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Justice Aradhe also played a significant role in setting up the Kolhapur bench of the Bombay High Court.
Justice Pancholi was appointed to the Gujarat High Court on 1 October 2014. He was transferred to the Patna High Court on 14 July 2023 and was nominated Chief Justice there on 21 July 2025.
If appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Pancholi is likely to serve as Chief Justice of India from 3 October 2031 to 27 May 2033. Sources in the Supreme Court told ThePrint that his appointment has been made keeping in mind the line of succession.
“As of now, we have future CJIs lined up till 2031. In the current list of High Court judges, we don’t have anybody who would have a long tenure to become CJI after October 2031. Justice Pancholi is the only one and, therefore, was unanimously approved,” a source said.
Justice Pancholi’s appointment would result in the Gujarat High Court having three judges in the top court. At present, Justices J.B. Pardiwala and A.N. Anjaria are from there, with the former in line to become CJI.
The collegium also deliberated on transfers of 14 judges across India. Sources said while some are punitive, others are being made in the interest of judicial administration. “For example, we propose to transfer two judges from Rajasthan to Delhi. Both are tax experts and would add value to the Delhi High Court Bench,” the source said.
So far, these transfers have not been finalised. The judges whose names were discussed Monday have been officially intimated by the Supreme Court. After seeking their consent, as well as the views of consultee judges serving in the Supreme Court and the Chief Justices of the High Courts concerned, the Collegium will issue the resolution.
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
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