The central government on Wednesday approved the Supreme Court’s Collegium recommendation of the elevation of Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi and Bombay High Court Justice Alok Aradhe.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced X, “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint (i) Shri Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice, Bombay High Court and (ii) Shri Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Chief Justice, Patna High Court as Judges of the Supreme Court of India."

With these two appointments, the top court will function at its full strength of 34 judges.

The five-member collegium comprising CJI B R Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J K Maheshwari and Nagarathna met on August 25 and recommended to the Centre, the names of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Pancholi for elevation as top court judges.

The Collegium’s proposal to elevate Chief Justice Pancholi to the apex court was strongly opposed by Justice BV Nagarathna. Justice Nagarathna, the sole woman SC judge, underlined Justice Pancholi’s elevation, despite his lower seniority and the circumstances surrounding his earlier transfer from the Gujarat High Court to Patna High Court, would be “counter-productive" to the judiciary.

Justice Nagarathna, in her dissent, noted that pushing ahead with his appointment could erode “whatever credibility the collegium system still holds," news agency PTI reported, citing sources.

Justice Nagarathna’s objections partly stemmed from Justice Pancholi’s July 2023 transfer from the Gujarat High Court to the Patna High Court. She is learnt to have said it was “not a routine transfer, but a carefully considered move made after consultations with several senior judges, all of whom concurred with the decision".

Justice Pancholi, born on 28 May 1968, began his legal career in September 1991 when he enrolled with the Bar. He practised for several years before the Gujarat High Court and was appointed as an additional judge there on 1 October 2014. He was later made a permanent judge on 10 June 2016.

Justice Pancholi would be in line to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in October 2031 after Justice Joymalya Bagchi’s retirement.

Source: News18