3 new Supreme Court judges take oath; strength of court rises to 37

Three new judges for the Supreme Court of India were administered the oath of office on Tuesday afternoon.

The newly appointed judges are Justice Sunita Agarwal (formerly Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court), Justice DK Upadhyay (formerly Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court) and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh (formerly Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court).

The Central government had notified their appointments as Supreme Court judges on Monday, following a recommendation made by a Supreme Court Collegium on September 28.

With their appointments, the top court now has a working strength of 37 judges, just one short of its sanctioned strength of 38 judges.

Justice Agarwal, who is originally a judge of the Allahabad High Court, has been the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court since July 2023. She graduated in law from Awadh University in 1989 and has been in the legal profession since December 1990. She was appointed as a judge in November 2011. She will retire from the Supreme Court in April 2031.

Justice Upadhyaya studied law at Lucknow University and enrolled as an advocate in May 1991. He remained the Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh from May 2007 till his elevation as a judge in November 2011. In July 2023, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. He was then transferred as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in January 2025, in which position he served till his elevation to the Supreme Court.

Justice Singh studied law at the University of Delhi and enrolled as an advocate in 1990. He practiced before the Patna High Court from 1990 to 2000 and then before the Jharkhand High Court till elevation as its judge in 2012. He was the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court from December 20, 2022 and February 19, 2023.

He was then elevated as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court where he took oath on April 17, 2023. Justice Singh was then transferred to the Telangana High Court, where he took oath on July 19, 2025.