AMIDST A RAGING CONTROVERSY over the out-of-turn elevation of Justice Vipul Pancholi, who faced a strong dissent note from Justice B.V. Nagarathna, both Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Pancholi were on Friday sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court. The oath of office was administered by the Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai.
Justice Pancholi, whose supersession of several senior judges has triggered debate on the functioning of the Collegium system, is in line to become the Chief Justice of India from October 3, 2031, to May 27, 2033. With the swearing-in of both judges, the Supreme Court will now function with its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
Before their elevation, Justice Aradhe was the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, while Justice Pancholi was the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. The Collegium headed by Chief Justice Gavai had, on August 25, recommended their names. Justice Nagarathna, however, recorded her dissent over Justice Pancholi’s appointment, noting that he ranked 57th in the seniority list of High Court judges.
Reportedly, Justice Nagarathna, the only woman judge currently in the Supreme Court, cautioned that the appointment would not only be “counter-productive” to the administration of justice but also risk the credibility of the Collegium itself. She stressed that several senior judges, including women judges such as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Sunita Agarwal, Justice Revati Mohite Dere of the Bombay High Court, and Justice Lisa Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, were overlooked in favour of Justice Pancholi.
Justice Aradhe, originally appointed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2009, has had a wide judicial career spanning postings in Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Telangana, and Bombay High Courts. He will serve in the top Court until April 12, 2029. His elevation takes the tally of judges from the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the Supreme Court to three, the others being Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Satish Chandra Sharma.
Justice Pancholi was appointed as a judge of the Gujarat High Court in 2014 and later transferred to the Patna High Court, where he became Chief Justice in July 2025. His appointment to the apex court has led to the supersession of at least 21 Chief Justices whose initial appointments pre-dated his. With his entry, the Gujarat High Court now has three judges in the Supreme Court—Justices J.B. Pardiwala, A.N. Anjaria, and Vipul Pancholi.
The development has once again brought to the fore the gender imbalance in the Supreme Court. While male judges have been elevated despite large-scale supersession, there has been a visible reluctance in the Collegium to bring more women judges to the bench.
