The Supreme Court on Wednesday elevated two high court chief justices, Alok Aradhe (Bombay High Court) and Vipul Manubhai Pancholi (Patna High Court), as Supreme Court judges. The Supreme Court collegium recommended their names on Monday, and the Union government announced their elevation on Wednesday.
While all members of the collegium backed Justice Aradhe's elevation, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, the lone woman judge in the top court, expressed dissent over Justice Pancholi's elevation. However, the Centre reportedly ignored Justice Nagarathna's dissent and announced the elevation of both judges on Wednesday.
#BREAKING: #SupremeCourt Collegium recommends to elevate Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and Justice Vipul M Pancholi, Chief Justice of Patna High Court as Judges of the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/jns4ZZiJBq
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) August 25, 2025
Once both judges assume office, the Supreme Court will function with its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the chief justice of India (CJI).
Born on May 28, 1968, in Ahmedabad, Justice Pancholi entered the Bar in September 1991 and started his legal practice as an advocate in the High Court of Gujarat. He was appointed as an assistant government pleader and additional public prosecutor in the Gujarat High Court, and served as such for seven years, till March 2006.
Justice Pancholi was elevated as an additional judge of the Gujarat High Court in October 2014, and was confirmed as a permanent judge on June 10, 2016. He was transferred to the Patna High Court in July 2023 and was made the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on July 21, 2025.
As per seniority, Justice Pancholi will be in line to become the CJI in October 2031, after Justice Joymalya Bagchi's retirement on October 2, 2031. He would assume the CJI's office on October 3, 2031, and retire on May 27, 2033, PTI reported.
Why did Justice B.V. Nagarathna oppose Justice Pancholi's elevation?
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In her long dissent note against Justice Pancholi's elevation, Justice Nagarathna said, despite the latter's lower seniority and "carefully considered" transfer from the Gujarat High Court to Patna High Court, his elevation would be counter-productive to the judiciary.
The lone woman judge of the top court argued Justice Pancholi's elevation could erode the credibility of the collegium system. Justice Pancholi is 57th in all-India seniority list of high court judges.
