On 28 September 2026, the Supreme Court Collegium led by CJI Surya Kant recommended the names of three High Court Chief Justices as Judges of Supreme Court.
At present, the judges’ strength of the Court is at 34 Judges1 against the sanctioned strength of 38 Judges. If the latest recommendations are approved by the Centre, then the current judges’ strength will rise to 37 Judges, which will be one short of the sanctioned strength.
Also read: Cabinet Clears Proposal to Add Four More Supreme Court Judges, Taking Total Strength to 38
The recommended names are as follows:
1. Justice Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat
Significantly, if Justice Sunita Agarwal’s name is approved for judgeship of the Supreme Court, then the number of women Judges in the Court will increase from two to three, thereby boosting women representation in the Supreme Court Bench. At present, Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice V. Mohana are sitting women Judges in the Court.
Justice Sunita Agarwal’s parent High Court is Allahabad High Court.
2. Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi
Justice Upadhyaya’s parent High Court is Allahabad High Court, and he was appointed as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court on 24 July 2023.
3. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice, Telangana High Court
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh’s parent High Court is Jharkhand High Court and took oath as the 8th Chief Justice of Tripura High Court on 17 April 2023. He was later transferred to Telangana High Court as Chief Justice on 14 July 2025.
