SC Collegium Recommends HC Chief Justices Alok Aradhe, Vipul Pancholi For Top Court Judges

Last Updated:August 25, 2025, 19:31 IST

A five-member collegium comprising CJI BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari, and BV Nagarathna, recommended the names to the Centre.

Supreme Court of India. (Representative Image)

The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended the names of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi for elevation as top court judges to the Centre.

The five-member collegium, including CJI BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari, and B V Nagarathna, convened on Monday afternoon for deliberations.

“The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on August 25, 2025 has recommended elevation of the following chief justices of the high Ccourts, as judges in the Supreme Court: (i) Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice, High Court of Bombay (PHC: High Court of Madhya Pradesh), (ii) Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Chief Justice, High Court of Judicature at Patna, (PHC: High Court of Gujarat)," said a statement uploaded on the apex court website.

Notably, the apex court currently has two vacancies and after the appointment of Justices Aradhe and Pancholi, it would regain its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

Who Is Justice Pancholi?

Justice Vipul Pancholi, who was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court last month, would be the next in line to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) after Justice Joymalya Bagchi’s retirement on October 2, 2031. Subject to the Centre’s clearance, he would assume the CJI’s office on October 3, 2031 and retire on May 27, 2033.

Born on May 28, 1968 at Ahmedabad, Justice Pancholi was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court on October 1, 2014 and was confirmed as a permanent judge on June 10, 2016. He was transferred to the Patna High Court and took oath as a judge there on July 24, 2023.

He had also served as an Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the Gujarat High Court for seven years till March 2006. He also worked as a visiting faculty at Sir LA Shah Law College, Ahmedabad, for 21 years.

Who Is Justice Aradhe?

Justice Alok Aradhe took charge as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on January 21 this year. He was first appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 29, 2009 and as a permanent judge on February 15, 2011.

He was appointed as an Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on May 11, 2018, after which he was transferred to the Karnataka High Court and became the Acting Chief Justice there on July 3, 2022.

He was also appointed as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 19, 2023 and took the oath of office on July 23, 2023.

(with PTI inputs)

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...

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August 25, 2025, 19:31 IST

News india SC Collegium Recommends HC Chief Justices Alok Aradhe, Vipul Pancholi For Top Court Judges

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