SC collegium recommends elevation of Justices Alok Aradhe and Vipul Pancholi to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended the elevation of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Pancholi as judges of the apex court.

The Collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice J.K. Maheshwari, and Justice B.V. Nagarathna, made the recommendation to fill two existing vacancies. The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is 34, but it is currently functioning with 32 judges.

Advertisement

Justice Aradhe began his judicial career as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2009 and became permanent in 2011. He was transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in 2016 and served briefly as its Acting Chief Justice in 2018.

In November 2018, he was transferred to the Karnataka High Court and served as its Acting Chief Justice for a few months in 2022. In July 2023, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court before being transferred in January 2025 to the Bombay High Court, where he currently serves.

Justice Pancholi, whose parent High Court is Gujarat, was born on May 28, 1968. He joined the Bar in 1991 and practised before the Gujarat High Court. Elevated as an additional judge of that court in 2014, he became permanent in 2016.

In July 2023, he was transferred to the Patna High Court, where he now serves as Chief Justice. His transfer was initially opposed by the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association, which praised his judicial record, including the disposal of more than 35,000 matters. Despite the objections, the transfer was implemented.

If cleared by the Central government, Justice Pancholi will have a long tenure of nearly eight years in the Supreme Court. He is also in line to become Chief Justice of India (CJI) in October 2031, upon the retirement of Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and will hold the office until his retirement in May 2033.

Justice Pancholi will be the third sitting Supreme Court judge whose parent High Court is Gujarat. The other two are Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice N.V. Anjaria. Justice Pardiwala is scheduled to serve as CJI between May 2028 and August 2030.

With these recommendations, the Collegium has sought to fill vacancies in the top court at a time when several important constitutional and statutory matters are pending consideration.