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Centre Notifies Elevation of Justices Sunita Agarwal, DK Upadhyaya, Aparesh Singh to Supreme Court
In a significant move to fill vacancies in the country’s highest court, the officially notified the appointment of three serving High Court Chief Justices as Judges of the on . The new appointees—Justice Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice of the ; Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the ; and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice of the —will assume office from the date they take their oaths. With these elevations, the of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice of India, rises to 37 judges, leaving just one vacancy against the total of 38.
The appointments follow the recommendation of the , led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, which met on to select the three candidates. The formal notifications, issued under by the , mark the culmination of the executive stage in the judicial appointment process. For the legal community, the elevations underscore the continued reliance on the and bring a wealth of High Court experience to the apex bench.
Justice Sunita Agarwal: Strengthening Women’s Representation
Justice Sunita Agarwal, who has her roots in the , becomes the third woman judge presently serving on the Supreme Court, alongside Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice V. Mohana. She is the second woman judge to be recommended for elevation by the Collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant after Justice Mohana. Her appointment is a notable step toward improving gender diversity in the Supreme Court, which has historically seen limited female representation.
Born in 1966, Justice Agarwal completed her law degree from Awadh University in 1989 and entered legal practice in . She initially practiced on the civil side at the before being elevated as an of that High Court on . She was confirmed as a on . On , she took oath as the Chief Justice of the , a position she held until her elevation to the Supreme Court. She is due to retire from the Supreme Court in , giving her nearly five years of service at the apex court.
Justice DK Upadhyaya: A Career Spanning Multiple High Courts
Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya also hails from the . He studied law at Lucknow University and enrolled as an advocate in . His early career included working in the chambers of his father, , who practiced before the for six decades, as well as with Senior Advocates and . His practice focused primarily on civil and constitutional matters before the ’s .
Justice Upadhyaya served as the for the from until his elevation as a judge of the in November 2011. He was confirmed as a on . On , he was appointed Chief Justice of the , and subsequently transferred as Chief Justice of the , where he assumed charge on . His elevation brings extensive experience in handling complex constitutional and civil litigation to the Supreme Court.
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh: A Journey from Jharkhand to the Top
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh completed his legal education at the University of Delhi and enrolled as an advocate in 1990. He practiced before the from 1990 to 2000 before moving to the newly formed , where he continued his practice until his elevation. He was appointed as an of the on , and confirmed as a on .
Justice Singh served as of the from December 20, 2022, to February 19, 2023. He was later appointed Chief Justice of the on , and subsequently transferred to the , where he took oath on . His elevation has a notable seniority dimension: Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, who was elevated from the to the Supreme Court earlier in 2026, was junior to Justice Singh in the of that High Court. Following the present elevation, Justice Singh will rank junior to Justice Chandrashekhar in the Supreme Court roster.
Implications for the Supreme Court
The three new judges add considerable High Court-level judicial experience to the Supreme Court at a time when the Court’s has recently been expanded. None of the three appointees is currently in the for the office of Chief Justice of India, but their presence will strengthen the bench’s capacity to handle the growing volume of litigation.
The appointment also reinforces the as the mechanism for judicial elevation, despite ongoing debates about and . The prompt notification by the Centre suggests a smooth working relationship between the judiciary and the executive in this round of appointments.
Conclusion
The elevation of Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and Aparesh Kumar Singh marks a significant moment for the Indian judiciary. With three new judges bringing diverse backgrounds from High Courts across the country, the Supreme Court is better equipped to address the legal challenges ahead. The increased representation of women judges—now three—is a particularly welcome development for the legal fraternity. As the judges assume office, the legal community will closely watch their contributions to the jurisprudence of the highest court.
