Supreme Court gets three new judges, working strength rises to 37

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday administered the oath of office to three new judges of the Supreme Court, taking its working strength to 37, one short of the sanctioned strength of 38.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at 3.30 pm, departing from the usual practice of administering the oath to newly appointed Supreme Court judges in the morning.

The ceremony was live-streamed by the Supreme Court.

The elevation of the three judges, Justice Sunita Agarwal, Justice Vijaya Bishnoi and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, was recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium on September 28 and notified by the Centre on October 5.

Justice Sunita Agarwal, who was Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, began her judicial career at the Allahabad High Court. She was elevated to the High Court Bench in 2011 and became a permanent judge in 2013. She was appointed Chief Justice of Gujarat in July 2023. Her elevation takes the number of women judges serving in the Supreme Court to three.

Justice Vijaya Bishnoi enrolled as an advocate on May 11, 1991, and became chief standing counsel for Uttar Pradesh in May 2007. She was appointed a judge of the Allahabad High Court in November 2011 and became a permanent judge in August 2013. She served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court from July 2023 before becoming Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court in January 2025.

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh was Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court before his elevation. He began his judicial career in Jharkhand and was appointed a High Court judge in 2012. He later served as Acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand and Chief Justice of Tripura before taking charge of the Telangana High Court in 2025.

The appointments follow the increase in the Supreme Court’s sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges earlier this year.