Five new judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court, bringing the total number of judges to 37, just one short of the sanctioned strength of 38.
The Supreme Court of India refused to entertain a petition from a judicial officer challenging the recommendation of junior officers for appointment as Himachal Pradesh High Court judges. The court stated it would not "open a pandora's box" by judicially reviewing collegium proceedings, emphasising the collegium's subjective satisfaction in such matters. The petitioner later withdrew his plea to pursue administrative or judicial remedies at the High Court level.
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has criticised the collegium system for its lack of transparency in judicial appointments, specifically the absence of stated reasons for elevations. He argues that this opacity allows unsuitable candidates, who may hold unconstitutional views, to enter the judiciary, citing recent controversial remarks by a High Court judge.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has stated that allegations of "maladministration" and "favouritism" made by Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta against Acting Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court Sanjeev Prakash Sharma cannot be adjudicated in the public domain, emphasising that Justice Sharma must be given a fair opportunity to respond.
It was hearing the plea which alleged that the collegium recommendation of the high court was void as one of the senior judges, Justice Nisha Banu, was not part of the deliberations.
There has never been a woman Chief Justice of India, although Justice B V Nagarathna is expected to become the first -- in 2027 if the convention of seniority is followed.
Supreme Court Justice B V Nagarathna dissented against the collegium's recommendation to elevate Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi to the Supreme Court, citing concerns about seniority, regional representation, and the circumstances of his earlier transfer.
The Supreme Court has got four new judges with President Pranab Mukherjee signing their warrants of appointment on Wednesday.
Legal experts are divided on whether an FIR can be lodged against former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, who resigned after a Lok Sabha-appointed panel found him guilty of charges related to unexplained cash found at his residence.
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the appointment of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice N V Anjaria, Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi, and Bombay High Court judge Justice A S Chandurkar as judges of the Supreme Court. The five-member collegium, headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai, decided to recommend the names to fill three existing vacancies in the top court. The appointments follow the superannuation of former Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Abhay S Oka and Hrishikesh Roy. The Supreme Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, is currently working with 31 judges.
Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta was on Monday administered the oath of office as a Supreme Court judge by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud.
He also said recommendations are yet to be received from the high court collegiums regarding the remaining 201 vacancies.
The Supreme Court collegium has initiated an initial inquiry against Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma following the alleged discovery of a large stash of cash at his official residence during a fire incident. The collegium has also reportedly recommended Justice Varma's transfer to his parent high court, the Allahabad High Court. The inquiry will involve seeking a report from the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on the incident. The controversy surrounding the alleged discovery of cash was first reported by The Times of India. Justice Varma's proposed transfer is subject to the Centre's approval. The amount of cash found is not yet known. Justice Varma, currently heading a division bench dealing with sales tax, GST, company appeals and other appeals, did not hold court on Friday. Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya expressed shock over the incident. The collegium reportedly received information about the cash discovery from government officials. Some collegium members have called for stricter action against Justice Varma, including seeking his resignation or launching an in-house inquiry. The Supreme Court has an in-house inquiry mechanism to deal with allegations against judges, which involves forming a committee to investigate and, based on the report, take further action. A judge of a constitutional court can only be removed through impeachment by Parliament.
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended to the Centre the names of five judges to be appointed as chief justices of the high courts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, Gauhati, Allahabad, and Jharkhand.
The high court made the observation while dismissing an appeal challenging an order which had rejected a petition seeking a direction to the Supreme Court collegiums to provide detailed reasons while refusing to accept recommendations for the appointment of high court judges.
Amid an ongoing tiff between the Executive and the Judiciary over the procedure to appoint judges, the government has asked the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider 10 proposals reiterated by it, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Justices A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and L Nageshwar Rao were on Friday sworn in as Supreme Court judges, taking the apex court's strength to 29, including Chief Justice T S Thakur.
The collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna, met on Thursday and its decision was uploaded on the apex court website.
The collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant, recommended the names of Delhi high court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Rajasthan high court Chief Justice Augustine George Masih and Gauhati high court Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta as top court judges.
Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, an Allahabad High Court judge, is set to appear before the Supreme Court Collegium to explain his controversial statements made at a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) function. The Supreme Court has sought a report from the Allahabad High Court after news reports surfaced regarding Justice Yadav's remarks, which were widely condemned as "hate speech". The judge's statements, made at a VHP event, sparked outrage from various quarters, including opposition leaders and lawyers. The Bar Association of India has also condemned the judge's remarks and called for an apology.
The Supreme Court collegium has for the second time reiterated the names of two advocates -- Amitesh Banerjee and Sakya Sen -- for appointment as judges of the Calcutta high court "expeditiously", saying it was not open for the government to repeatedly send back the same proposal.
On August 10, the collegium also comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant had proposed transfer of Justice Bhatnagar to the Rajasthan high court for better administration of justice.
Justice Yashwant Varma, a Delhi High Court judge, has been transferred to his parent Allahabad High Court amid a controversy surrounding the alleged discovery of a large sum of cash at his official residence. The Supreme Court Collegium recommended the transfer, stating it was separate from an in-house probe ordered by the top court into the alleged cash find. The incident occurred following a fire at Justice Varma's residence on Holi night, March 14. Justice Varma has vehemently denied any involvement in the alleged cash discovery, calling it a conspiracy to frame him.
Notifications announcing the appointments of Uttarakhand high court Chief Justice KM Joseph, Madras HC Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa HC Chief Justice Vineet Saran to the Supreme Court were issued on Saturday.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Adish C Aggarwala Thursday wrote to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud expressing "shock" at an open letter to the head of the judiciary by a senior member of the bar.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Monday said the collegium system of appointing Supreme Court judges should be revisited to include the Executive in the process, as reports of corruption, nepotism, favouritism and other ills have been gaining ground in the judiciary.
Supreme Court's Collegium headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana has recommended names of 13 advocates for elevation as the judges of the Allahabad High Court.
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended 127 names for appointment as judges in the higher judiciary between December 1 last year and July 26 and out of these, 61 appointments were made, the government informed Lok Sabha on Friday.
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has opposed the transfer of Delhi High Court sitting judge Justice Yashwant Varma, from whose official home a huge stash of cash was reportedly discovered. The association said that the Supreme Court's decision to transfer Justice Varma back to the Allahabad High Court was "taken aback".
Govt returns 20 names to SC collegium to reconsider
Rijiju made the remarks while responding to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who dubbed as 'extremely dangerous' the government's move to ask the Supreme Court to include its nominees in collegium.
The collegium, which also comprised senior most judges Justices U U Lalit and A M Khanwilkar, held deliberations on December 14, 2021 and January 29, 2022, recommended 17 names for appointment as judges in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa high courts.
Setting a precedent, the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has recommended a retired district judge for appointment as judge of the Madhya Pradesh high court.
Rijiju was speaking on the sidelines of an event to dedicate 254 mobile towers for 4G services to Arunachal Pradesh.
The Supreme Court collegium has confirmed the transfer of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma to his parent Allahabad High Court. This decision comes after an inquiry was initiated against Justice Varma regarding the alleged discovery of a large amount of cash at his official residence. The transfer recommendation was made public in a resolution uploaded on the Supreme Court's website. The alleged cash discovery occurred following a fire at Varma's residence in Delhi on March 14, 2025. The apex court collegium, headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has also constituted a three-member inquiry committee to further investigate the matter.
On December 13 last year, the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended to the government to appoint Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice, Rajasthan high court; Justice Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice, Patna high court; Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Chief Justice, Manipur high court; Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah of Patna high court; and Justice Manoj Misra of Allahabad high court as apex court judges.
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the elevation of the Chief Justice of Bombay high court, Justice Dipankar Datta, as a judge of the apex court.
The Supreme Court of India has made public the asset details of its judges, including Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna who has Rs 55.75 lakh in a fixed deposit, a three-bedroom DDA flat in south Delhi, and a four-bedroom apartment measuring 2,446 square feet in the Commonwealth Games Village. The court has also uploaded the complete process of appointments to the high courts and the Supreme Court on its website for public awareness.
The report, according to the sources, states that the HC did not get the note of the Supreme Court collegium on the issue even after six months.
The Collegium had proposed Justice Singh's transfer on August 3 for "better administration of justice".
