SC gets three new judges, working strength goes up to 37

NEW DELHI: Three new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court on Monday, taking its working strength to 37, one short of the sanctioned 38.

According to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Justice Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court; Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice, Delhi High Court; and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice, Telangana High Court, have been elevated as top court judges.

Meghwal made the announcement in a social media post.

The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended the names on September 28.

While the current working strength of the apex court is 34, once the three new judges formally take the oath, its effective strength will go up to 37.

The top court's sanctioned strength is 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. It was recently increased from 34 following the Supreme Court Amendment Act, 2026.

With Justice Sunita Agarwal's appointment, the number of women judges in the top court has gone up to three, including Justice B V Nagarathna, who has been a judge in the top court since August 31, 2021, and Justice Venkita Subramani Mohana, who was appointed on June 2, 2026.

While Justice Agarwal and Justice Nagarathna have a background of serving in high courts, Justice Mohana was elevated directly from the Bar. She had been a senior advocate of the Supreme Court.

Justice Nagarathna will also become the Chief Justice of India for more than a month in 2027.

Of the three judges appointed on Monday, Justices Agarwal and Upadhyay are originally from the Allahabad High Court, while Justice Singh originally belongs to the Jharkhand HC.