New Delhi, Oct 2026 : Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Tuesday administered the oath of office to three newly appointed judges of the Supreme Court — Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh.
The swearing-in ceremony was held at 3.30 p.m. and was live-streamed, marking a departure from the Supreme Court's usual practice of administering the oath to newly appointed judges in the morning.
New judges of the apex court generally take the oath at 10.30 a.m., around the time the Supreme Court begins its proceedings on working days. The decision to hold Tuesday's ceremony in the afternoon was therefore an unusual departure from the established schedule.
The three judges, who were serving as Chief Justices of different High Courts, were elevated to the Supreme Court following a recommendation by the Supreme Court Collegium. The Centre cleared their appointments on Monday, shortly after the Collegium recommended their elevation.
In a statement uploaded on its official website, the Supreme Court Collegium said it had recommended the elevation of the three Chief Justices at its meeting held on September 28, 2026.
“The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 28th September, 2026 has recommended elevation of the following Chief Justices of the High Courts as Judges in the Supreme Court,” the statement said.
The Centre subsequently approved the recommendations. Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced on X that the President, after consultation with CJI Surya Kant, had appointed the three Chief Justices as judges of the Supreme Court.
Justice Sunita Agarwal, born on April 30, 1966, was appointed as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011. She later became Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on July 23, 2023.
Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya was born on June 16, 1965. He was appointed as a puisne judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011, and became a permanent judge on August 6, 2013. He was appointed Senior Judge of the Lucknow Bench on March 28, 2023.
Upadhyaya subsequently became Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and took oath on July 29, 2023. He was later transferred to the Delhi High Court as Chief Justice and took oath there on January 21, 2025.
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, born on July 7, 1965, 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 served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court from December 20, 2022, to February 19, 2023. He became Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court and took oath on April 17, 2023. He was subsequently transferred as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, where he took oath on July 19, 2025.
The appointments strengthen the Supreme Court's judicial capacity at a time when its sanctioned strength has been expanded. Earlier this year, the Centre increased the sanctioned strength of the apex court to 37 judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India.
The induction of the three new judges will add to the Supreme Court's bench strength and provide greater capacity to deal with its expanding judicial workload.
