New Delhi, Aug 27 Acting swiftly on the recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium, the Centre on Wednesday cleared the elevation of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi to the apex court.
In a post on X, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal announced that the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI), was pleased to appoint Justices Aradhe and Pancholi as SC judges.
With the appointment of the two judges, the strength of the Supreme Court will reach the sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. At present, it is functioning with 32 judges.
"The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 25th August, 2025 has recommended elevation of the following Chief Justices of the High Courts, as Judges in the Supreme Court: (i) Mr. Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice, High Court of Bombay (PHC: High Court of Madhya Pradesh) (ii) Mr. Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Chief Justice, High Court of Judicature at Patna, (PHC: High Court of Gujarat)," read a statement uploaded on the apex court website.
Born on April 13, 1964, Justice Aradhe enrolled as an advocate in 1988 and was designated a senior advocate in 2007. He was appointed Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in December 2009 and became a Permanent Judge in February 2011. Justice Aradhe later served in the Jammu & Kashmir High Court from 2016, where he was Acting Chief Justice for a short period of term in 2018, before being transferred to the Karnataka High Court in November 2018. He functioned as Acting Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court for around three months in 2022. Justice Aradhe was elevated as Chief Justice of Telangana High Court in July 2023 and transferred as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in January this year.
Born on May 28, 1968, in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Justice Pancholi completed his B.Sc. in Electronics and LL.M. in Commercial Law from Gujarat University. He joined the Bar in 1991 and served as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Gujarat High Court for seven years. Justice Pancholi was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court on October 1, 2014 and became a Permanent Judge on June 10, 2016. He was transferred to the Patna High Court in July 2023 and took charge as its Chief Justice on July 21, 2025.
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