Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Vipul Pancholi were sworn into office this morning as Supreme Court judges..With their appointment, the Supreme Court is now functioning at its full sanctioned capacity of 34 judges. The recommendation to elevate Justices Aradhe and Pancholi to the Supreme Court was made by the Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari, and BV Nagarathna.Notably, Justice Nagarathna had dissented on the proposal to elevate Justice Pancholi to the Supreme Court. She had reportedly opined that his appointment would not only be “counter-productive” to the administration of justice, but would also put the credibility of the Collegium system at stake.In her dissent note, Justice Nagarathna reportedly pointed out that Justice Pancholi ranks 57th among High Court judges, and that more senior judges across High Courts could be considered ahead of him.Justice Nagarathna's dissent was overruled by the four other members of the Collegium - Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari. Justice Pancholi is now in line to serve as India's 60th Chief Justice in 2031, and is also the third sitting Supreme Court judge whose parent High Court is the Gujarat High Court.The Central government cleared his and Justice Aradhe's appointment as Supreme Court judges on August 27, two days after their elevation to the top court was recommended by the Collegium. .Justice Aradhe was serving as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court before his elevation to the Supreme Court. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2009. He was made a permanent judge in 2011. He was transferred to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 and served as its Acting Chief Justice for 3 months in 2018. After that, he took oath as a judge of the Karnataka High Court on November 17, 2018 and served as its acting Chief Justice for a few months in 2022.In July 2023, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.He was then transferred to the Bombay High Court as its Chief Justice in January 2025..Justice Pancholi's parent High Court is Gujarat.He was transferred to Patna in July 2023.Justice Pancholi was born on May 28, 1968.He joined the Bar in September 1991 and started practice as an advocate in the Gujarat High Court.He was elevated as an additional judge of the Gujarat High Court October 1, 2014 and confirmed as permanent Judge on June 10, 2016.His transfer to Patna High Court from Gujarat was mired in controversy after the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA) opposed the same.In a communication to the then Chief Justice of India, the GHCAA had said that Justice Pancholi imbibed all the qualities that a good judge should possess.They had further highlighted that Justice Pancholi has disposed of over 35,000 matters.Despite the opposition, the transfer was effected, and he served as the Patna High Court's Chief Justice till his appointment to the Supreme Court.
