New Delhi: The Central Government on Wednesday announced the appointment of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi as judges of the Supreme Court of India. The announcement was made by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on X, stating that the President, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, approved the appointments under constitutional powers.

The decision comes amid dissent from Justice BV Nagarathna, who expressed concerns that elevating Justice Pancholi could be “counter-productive” to the administration of justice and might undermine the credibility of the collegium system.

Justice Alok Aradhe, born on April 13, 1964, began his legal career in 1988 and was designated as a senior advocate in 2007. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in December 2009 and confirmed as a Permanent Judge in February 2011.

Justice Aradhe served at the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, briefly as Acting Chief Justice in 2018, then moved to the Karnataka High Court, where he also held the role of Acting Chief Justice for three months in 2022. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court in July 2023 and transferred as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in January 2025.

Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, born on May 28, 1968, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, earned a B.Sc. in Electronics and an LL.M. in Commercial Law from Gujarat University. Enrolled at the Bar in 1991, he served as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the Gujarat High Court for seven years.

He was appointed Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in October 2014 and became a Permanent Judge in June 2016. Justice Pancholi was transferred to the Patna High Court in July 2023 and assumed office as its Chief Justice on July 21, 2025.

These appointments reinforce the ongoing efforts to strengthen the Supreme Court’s bench while sparking debate over the collegium system’s transparency and processes.