Three Newly Appointed Supreme Court Judges Take Oath Before CJI Surya Kant
Three newly appointed judges formally join the Supreme Court bench.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant administered the oath of office to three newly appointed Supreme Court judges on Tuesday. Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh took the oath during a swearing-in ceremony held at the Supreme Court at 3:30 p.m.
The ceremony was live-streamed and marked a departure from the usual practice of administering the oath to newly appointed Supreme Court judges at 10:30 a.m. The three judges were elevated from their respective High Courts after the Union government approved their appointments on the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium.
The Collegium had recommended the elevation of the three Chief Justices at its September 28 meeting. The Centre subsequently approved their appointments on Monday. Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also announced the appointments, stating that the President had appointed the three Chief Justices as judges of the Supreme Court after consultation with CJI Surya Kant.
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Justice Sunita Agarwal, born on April 30, 1966, was appointed as a judge of the Allahabad High Court in November 2011 and became Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in July 2023. Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, born on June 16, 1965, was appointed to the Allahabad High Court in November 2011 and later served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court before becoming Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court in January 2025.
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, born on July 7, 1965, was appointed an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court in January 2012 and became a permanent judge in January 2014. He served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court before becoming Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court in April 2023. He was later transferred to the Telangana High Court, where he took oath as Chief Justice in July 2025.
The appointments are expected to strengthen the Supreme Court's judicial strength following the Centre's decision earlier this year to raise the sanctioned strength to 37 judges, excluding the CJI. With the latest elevations, the three former High Court Chief Justices will now join the apex court bench and participate in its judicial proceedings.
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