The Supreme Court on Tuesday witnessed the swearing-in of three new judges, Justice Sunita Agarwal, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, taking the working strength of the Supreme Court to 37 judges against a sanctioned strength of 38.

The three judges were earlier serving as Chief Justices of the Gujarat, Delhi and Telangana High Courts respectively. Their appointments were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on September 28 and were subsequently notified by the Union Government. The President appointed them as Supreme Court judges on October 5.

With the appointments, the Supreme Court is now only one judge short of its sanctioned strength of 38, including the Chief Justice of India. Justice Sunita Agarwal’s elevation also takes the number of women judges currently serving on the Supreme Court to three.

The three High Courts from which the judges have moved will also get new Acting Chief Justices:

● Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre will discharge the duties of Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court,

● Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak will perform the duties of Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, and

● Justice Puthichira Sam Koshy will serve as Acting Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

Their appointments take effect after the respective Chief Justices relinquish charge following their elevation to the Supreme Court.

Justice Sunita Agarwal

Justice Sunita Agarwal was born on April 30, 1966. She graduated from Lucknow University with a B.Sc. degree in 1986 and subsequently obtained her law degree from Awadh University in 1989-1990.

She enrolled as an advocate on December 16, 1990 and practised primarily on the civil, writ, original and commercial sides of the Allahabad High Court. She spent more than two decades in legal practice before entering the judiciary.

Justice Agarwal was appointed an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011 and became a permanent judge on August 6, 2013. During her tenure, she served on several administrative committees and presided over matters across civil, criminal, constitutional, service, land acquisition and intra-court appellate jurisdictions. She was also associated with the High Court’s mediation programme and became a trained and certified mediator.

In April 2023, as the senior-most judge of the Allahabad High Court, she was appointed Executive Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority.

After around 12 years as a judge of the Allahabad High Court, she was appointed Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and took the oath on July 23, 2023.

Justice Agarwal is now formally appointed as a Supreme Court judge today. Her elevation makes her the third woman judge currently serving on the Supreme Court, alongside Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice V. Mohana. She is also the second woman judge recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court by the Collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant.

Her elevation further adds to the representation of the Allahabad High Court on the Supreme Court, as Allahabad is her parent High Court. As of today, 4 judges are from the Allahabad High Court serving in the Supreme Court of India, following the swearing-in of Justices Sunita Agarwal and Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya alongside Vikram Nath and Manoj Misra.

Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya

Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya was born on June 16, 1965, in Muskarai village in present-day Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. He obtained his LL.B. degree from Lucknow University in 1991 and enrolled as an advocate on May 11, 1991.

He began his legal career by joining the chambers of his father, R.A. Upadhyaya, who practised before the Board of Revenue, as well as those of Senior Advocates Mohammad Arif Khan and S.K. Kalia. Justice Upadhyaya primarily practised on the civil and constitutional sides of the Allahabad High Court at Lucknow.

Justice Upadhyaya was appointed Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh in May 2007, a position he held until his elevation to the Bench. He was appointed a puisne judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011 and became a permanent judge on August 6, 2013. He became Senior Judge of the Lucknow Bench on March 28, 2023.

In July 2023, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and took oath on July 29, 2023. He subsequently moved to Delhi, taking oath as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on January 21, 2025.

Justice Upadhyaya was recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court while serving as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. His appointment was notified by the Centre on October 5, and he took oath as a Supreme Court judge on October 6.

Following his elevation, Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre of the Delhi High Court has been appointed to discharge the duties of Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court under Article 223 of the Constitution.

Justice Upadhyaya’s parent High Court is the Allahabad High Court.

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh was born on July 7, 1965. He completed his B.A. (Honours) and LL.B. from the University of Delhi and enrolled as an advocate in 1990. He practised before the Patna High Court from 1990 to 2000. From 2001 onwards, he practised before the Jharkhand High Court until his elevation to the Bench.

Justice Singh was appointed an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court on January 24, 2012 and was confirmed as a permanent judge on January 16, 2014. He subsequently served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court from December 20, 2022 to February 19, 2023. He was then appointed Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court and took oath on April 17, 2023.

After his transfer from Tripura, Justice Singh took oath as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 19, 2025. He thus served as Chief Justice of Telangana until his elevation to the Supreme Court.

Justice Singh was recommended for elevation by the Supreme Court Collegium while serving as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court. The President appointed him as a Supreme Court judge on October 5, followed by his oath of office today.

His elevation leaves the Telangana High Court with Justice Puthichira Sam Koshy as Acting Chief Justice. Justice Koshy, who was elevated to the Chhattisgarh High Court in 2013 and later transferred to Telangana, will discharge the duties of Chief Justice from the date Justice Singh relinquishes charge.

Justice Singh’s parent High Court is the Jharkhand High Court.