Supreme Court Welcomes Three New Judges; Working Strength Rises to 37
Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh were sworn in by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, leaving one vacancy on the Court.
(By Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
6, October,2026-The Supreme Court of India has added three judges to its Bench, with Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh taking the oath of office at a ceremony held at the Court on Tuesday.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant administered the oath to the newly appointed judges. Their induction raises the Supreme Court’s working strength to 37, including the CJI, against a sanctioned strength of 38. Before the ceremony, the Court had been functioning with 34 judges.
The Union Government notified the appointments on Monday, following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium at its meeting on September 28.
All three judges bring experience as Chief Justices of High Courts. Justice Agarwal, whose parent High Court is the Allahabad High Court, was serving as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court. Justice Upadhyaya, also from the Allahabad High Court, was Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. Justice Singh, whose parent High Court is the Jharkhand High Court, was serving as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court and had earlier headed the Tripura High Court.
Justice Agarwal’s elevation also increases the number of women judges on the Supreme Court to three. She is the second woman judge recommended for elevation by the Collegium led by CJI Surya Kant; Justice V. Mohana was previously recommended and appointed to the Court.
The increase in the Court’s sanctioned strength follows the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 2026, which received Presidential assent in August and raised the permissible strength from 34 to 38, including the Chief Justice of India. Five judges had been appointed to the Supreme Court in June.
The latest appointments bring the Court close to its authorised complement, with one position remaining vacant.
