Supreme Court judges sworn in

Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai administered the swearing-in of Justices Alok Aradhe and Vipul M. Pancholi as Supreme Court judges on Friday,

The appointment of the two new judges saw the court return to the full sanctioned judicial strength of 34 judges. The apex court would function with 34 judges until the retirement of Chief Justice Gavai on November 23, 2025.

Justice Pancholi is in line to be Chief Justice of India as per the seniority norm from October 3, 2031 till his retirement on May 27, 2033. His appointment process saw a rare dissent from one of the Supreme Court Collegium members, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, who had pointed out that Justice Pancholi was ranked 57 in the all-India High Court judges’ seniority list and there were several meritorious judges senior to him who could be considered for elevation to the Supreme Court. In her dissent, Justice Nagarathna had written that Justice Pancholi’s elevation would be “counter-productive” to the administration of justice and the credibility of the Supreme Court Collegium was at stake.

However, the Collegium, in a 4:1 majority, had gone ahead to recommend Justice Pancholi along with Justice Aradhe on August 25. Their appointment to the apex court was notified in 48 hours, on August 27.

Justice Pancholi was born on May 28, 1968 at Ahmedabad and was confirmed as a Permanent Judge of the Gujarat High Court in June 2016. He was transferred to Patna High Court in July 2023 and appointed its Chief Justice on July 21, 2025.

Justice Aradhe is ranked three in the list of High Court Chief Justices and Justice Pancholi is 19. Justice Aradhe’s parent High Court is Madhya Pradesh and that of Justice Pancholi is Gujarat.

Justice Aradhe, born in April 1964, was appointed as an Additional Judge of Madhya Pradesh in December 2009 and made a Permanent Judge of the High Court in February 2011.