• Source:JND
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The Central Government, on Wednesday, gave its nod to the Supreme Court’s collegium recommendation of the elevation of Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi and Bombay High Court Justice Alok Aradhe. According to the Union Law Ministry notification, Chief Justices Pancholi and AradhE were elevated as judges of the Supreme Court on July 27.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint (i) Shri Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice, Bombay High Court and (ii) Shri Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Chief Justice, Patna High Court as Judges of the Supreme Court of India."

With these two new appointments, the Supreme Court will function at its full strength of 34 judges.

Who Is Justice Vipul Pancholi?

Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Pancholi, who has been elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court, was born on May 28, 1968 and began his legal career in September 1991. Pancholi practised before the Gujarat High Court and was appointed as an additional judge on October 1, 2014.

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Later, he was made a permanent judge on June 10, 2016. He was appointed as a Supreme Court Judge on August 27 and is in line to become Chief Justice of India (CJI) in October 2031 after Justice Joymala Bagchi’s retirement.

SC Collegium Recommendation To Elevate Justice Pancholi Sparks Row

The five-member collegium of the Supreme Court, comprising CJI B R Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J K Maheshwari and Nagarathna, met on August 25 and recommended the elevation and recommended the elevation of Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi and Bombay High Court Justice Alok Aradhe.

The collegium’s recommendation to elevate Justice Pancholi was strongly opposed by Justice BV Nagarathna. Nagarathna, the only woman judge currently serving the Supreme Court, argued that Justice Pancholi’s elevation, despite lower seniority and the controversial circumstances of his earlier transfer from the Gujarat High Court to the Patna High Court, would be “counter-productive” to the judiciary.

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Nagarathna, in her dissent, warned that proceeding with Chief Justice Pancholi’s elevation would undermine the “whatever credibility the collegium system still holds,” news agency PTI reported, citing sources.