Supreme Court Collegium recommends three judges to top court

The Supreme Court collegium recommends elevation of two High Court chief justices and Bombay High Court judge to the top court

The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday (May 26, 2025) recommended the names of two Chief Justices of High Courts and a judge of the Bombay High Court for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court.

The working strength of the Supreme Court Bench has been reduced to 31 with the retirement of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and A.S. Oka. It would further diminish to 30 with the superannuation of Justice Bela Trivedi on June 9. The total sanctioned judicial strength of the top court is 34.

The Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, recommended Justice N.V. Anjaria, Chief Justice, High Court of Karnataka; Justice Vijay Bishnoi, Chief Justice, Gauhati High Court; and Justice A.S. Chandurkar, judge, Bombay High Court; to the top court.

Justice Anjaria’s parent High Court is Gujarat and Justices Bishnoi’s is the Rajasthan High Court. Justice Chandurkar started his career in the Bombay High Court itself.

All the five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court are presiding over Benches even though the court has formally closed for summer vacations. Chief Justice Gavai has refused to use the term “vacation”, and has often referred to the May-June holidays as “partial working days” to emphasise that the judges of the top court were willing to work around the year to reduce pendency.

With the retirement of both Justices Khanna and Oka, Justices J.K. Maheshwari and B.V. Nagarathna have become part of the powerful Collegium.

If the seniority norm holds in appointments, Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, who are judges number two and three, would go on to become Chief Justices of India. Similarly, Justice Nagarathna is expected to be the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027.