Three newly appointed judges of the Supreme Court took oath of office on Tuesday, taking the working strength of the Court to 37 (including the CJI).
The sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges is 38. Before today's swearing-in ceremony, the Court was functioning with 34 judges (including the CJI).
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant administered the oath to Justice Sunita Agarwal, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh at a ceremony held at the Supreme Court.
The Central government had yesterday notified the 3 judges' appointments following recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting on September 28.
All three newly appointed judges were formerly Chief Justices of High Courts. Justice Sunita Agarwal (parent HC: Allahabad High Court) was serving as the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (parent HC: Allahabad High Court) was serving as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh (parent HC: Jharkhand High Court) was serving as the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court. Justice Singh also served as the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court.
With the appointment of Justice Sunita Agarwal, the strength of women judges in the Supreme Court has risen to 3. She is the second woman judge to be recommended by CJI Surya Kant-led Collegium. Earlier, Justice V Mohana was recommended and elevated to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 2026, which was given Presidential assent in August, increased the strength of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38 (including the CJI). In June, 5 new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court.