The Supreme Court on Tuesday welcomed three new judges, with Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh taking oath of office and raising the Court’s working strength to 37.
The three judges were elevated from the High Courts following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium on September 28. Their appointments were subsequently notified by the Central Government on October 5.
With their induction, the Supreme Court is now only one judge short of its sanctioned strength of 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
Justice Sunita Agarwal joins the Supreme Court after serving as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court. Her elevation also increases the representation of women on the Supreme Court Bench. She becomes the third woman presently serving as a judge of the apex court.
Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who was serving as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, has also been elevated to the top court. He, like Justice Agarwal, has the Allahabad High Court as his parent High Court.
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh was serving as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court before his elevation. His parent High Court is the Jharkhand High Court.
The Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, had considered the three names while taking into account factors including merit, seniority, integrity and institutional requirements. The September 28 resolution forms part of the Supreme Court’s official record of Collegium decisions.
The latest appointments come against the backdrop of an increase in the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges earlier this year. Five judges had been elevated to the apex court in June, taking its strength to 37 at that stage before subsequent vacancies altered the composition of the Bench.
The induction of the three judges brings the Court close to its full sanctioned capacity and is expected to add to its judicial strength as the apex court continues to deal with a substantial volume of constitutional, civil and criminal litigation.
Justice Agarwal’s elevation is also significant from the perspective of women’s representation in the higher judiciary. With her appointment, three women judges are currently serving on the Supreme Court Bench, while Justice BV Nagarathna remains in line to become the first woman Chief Justice of India under the existing seniority convention.
The three new judges will now participate in the Supreme Court’s adjudicatory work alongside Chief Justice Surya Kant and the other members of the apex court.
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