Three New Supreme Court Judges Take Oath, Working Strength Rises to 37

Three newly appointed judges—Justices Sunita Agarwal, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Aparesh Kumar Singh—took oath of office at the Supreme Court on October 6, 2026. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant administered the oath, taking the Court’s working strength to 37, just one short of its sanctioned strength of 38.

The appointments follow recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium on September 28 and their subsequent notification by the Union government. All three judges were serving as Chief Justices of High Courts before their elevation. Justice Sunita Agarwal was Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya was Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court while Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh was Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

The expansion comes after Parliament increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court. The higher judicial capacity is aimed at enabling the apex court to deal with its expanding workload more efficiently and support faster disposal of cases. The government had earlier highlighted that increasing judicial strength would improve the Court’s effectiveness and contribute to speedy justice.

Justice Sunita Agarwal’s elevation also raises the number of women judges serving in the Supreme Court to three. Her appointment adds further representation to the apex judiciary while bringing extensive High Court experience to the Court.

From a governance perspective, the appointments strengthen institutional capacity at the country’s highest judicial forum. With 37 judges now in position against a sanctioned strength of 38, the Supreme Court has moved closer to full judicial capacity, creating greater scope for effective case management, constitutional adjudication and timely delivery of justice.