In July 2026, Bar & Bench reported that 7 of India's 25 High Courts were being run by acting Chief Justices (CJs).
However, with the latest spate of judicial appointments, every High Court in India is being helmed by a full time Chief Justice.
The unusually large number of acting CJs over the last two months was largely the result of routine transfers, retirements, as well as a direct effect of the government's decision to expand the Supreme Court's sanctioned strength from 33 to 37 judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India) through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026 and later, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026.
The move led to four High Court Chief Justices being elevated to the Supreme Court in one go, resulting in sudden vacancies in the High Courts and consequent appointment of Acting CJs.
Three other High Courts were also helmed by Acting CJs due to regular retirement of their respective incumbent CJs.
The High Courts with Acting CJs as of July 20, 2026 were:
Bombay High Court- Justice RV Ghuge;
Punjab & Haryana High Court- Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra;
Madhya Pradesh High Court- Justice Vivek Rusia;
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court- Justice Sanjeev Kumar;
Patna High Court- Justice Sudhir Singh;
Rajasthan High Court- Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma; and
Calcutta High Court- Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty.
After a meeting held on August 6, the Collegium made five recommendations.
It recommended appointing Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra, who was already serving as Acting CJ, as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Further, it recommended that Delhi High Court Justice V Kameswar Rao be appointed as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court.
Allahabad High Court Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi was recommended for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.
It also recommended that Justice RV Ghuge, who was serving as the Acting CJ of the Bombay High Court, be appointed as Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
The Collegium also recommended the appointment of Orissa High Court Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra as Chief Justice of the High Court of Chhattisgarh. This was an advance recommendation in anticipation of the retirement of incumbent Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha on September 4.
On September 5, the Central government notified the appointment all five of the above judges.
While the Punjab government opposed the appointment of Justice Mishra as Chief Justice on the ground that the State government's opinion was not sought, the judge was sworn in as Chief Justice on September 7.
Pertinently, in August, a controversy had erupted over the judge who was helming Rajasthan High Court as its Acting CJ, Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.
In an exclusive published by Bar & Bench on August 26, it was reported that Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta had written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant seeking Justice Sharma's transfer out of Rajasthan and appointment of a regular Chief Justice from another High Court. Justice Mehta levelled allegations concerning the exercise of administrative powers and case listings by Justice Sharma.
The controversy also triggered protests by lawyers at both the Jaipur and Jodhpur benches of the Rajasthan High Court, with lawyers demanding that Justice Sharma be divested of his charge as acting Chief Justice.
Justice Sharma later opted himself out of judicial work.
The issue seems to have been discussed by the collegium as a meeting of held on August 31 resulted in a recommendation to appoint Chattisgarh High Court judge Justice Sanjay K Agrawal as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
This recommendation was cleared by the Central government and on September 7, Justice Agrawal took oath as the Chief Justice of the High Court.
The meeting on August 31 resulted in two more recommendations.
The Collegium recommended appointing Gujarat High Court judge Justice Alpesh Yeshvant Kogje as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
It also recommended the appointment of Rajasthan High Court judge Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
These recommendations were also cleared by the Central government on September 5.
All new Chief Justices have been sworn in to their new posts.
This year will see at least three more changes in the judges who head High Courts as Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta of Uttarakhand High Court, Chief Justice Harish Tandon of Orissa High Court and Chief Justice MS Sonak of Jharkhand High Court are expected to retire from service in 2026.