CJI administers oath to two new judges; SC regains full strength of 34 judges

Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Friday administered the oath of office to Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi as judges of the Supreme Court.

With the two newly appointed judges assuming office, the Supreme Court has regained its full working strength of 34 judges, including the CJI.

Justice Pancholi would be in line to become the CJI in October 2031 after retirement of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and would occupy the top judicial position for one-and-a-half year.

Attended by Supreme Court judges, lawyers and the top court Registry staff, the swearing-in ceremony lasted barely 10 minutes.

The Centre had on Wednesday notified the appointment of Justice Aradhe and Justice Pancholi as judges of the Supreme Court, barely two days after the SC Collegium recommended their elevation.

The Collegium’s decision to recommend the names of Justice Aradhe and Justice Pancholi was taken on Monday by the five-member Collegium headed by CJI Gavai. The other members of the Collegium include Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice BV Nagarathna.

Justice Nagarathna—the lone woman judge in the Collegium—had reportedly opposed Justice Pancholi’s elevation to the top court, saying it would be “counterproductive” to the administration of justice and would erode the credibility of the Collegium system.

The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) and senior counsel Indira Jaising had questioned the Collegium’s decision.

Born on April 13, 1964, Justice Aradhe did B.Sc. and LL.B and enrolled as advocate on July 12, 1988. He practised civil and constitutional, arbitration and company matters at the Madhya Pradesh High Court which designated him as Senior Advocate in April 2007.

Appointed as Additional Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh on December 29, 2009, and Permanent Judge on February 15, 2011, he was transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court where he took oath on September 20, 2016. He was transferred to the Karnataka High Court in November 2018 and was appointed Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court in July 2023. Later, he was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in January 2025.

Born on May 28, 1968, at Ahmedabad, Justice Pancholi obtained Bachelor of Science (Electronics) from St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat University, and Master of Law in Commercial Group from Sir L.A. Shah Law College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat University.

He joined the Bar in September 1991 and started practice as an advocate in the Gujarat High Court. He conducted important cases in various branches of law, viz. criminal law, civil law, property law, service law, family law, banking law and various other laws and also worked as visiting faculty at Sir L.A. Shah Law College, Ahmedabad, from December 1993 for 21 years.

Elevated as Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court on October 1, 2014, Justice Pancholi was confirmed as Permanent Judge on June 10, 2016. He was transferred to the Patna High Court in July 2023 and became the Chief Justice of the same High Court on July 21, 2025.