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Three High Court Chief Justices Made Supreme Court Judges

The President appointed Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, Delhi's Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Telangana's Aparesh Kumar Singh as Supreme Court judges.

By Published · 2 min read
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Why in News

On 5 October 2026 the Ministry of Law and Justice announced that the President had appointed the Chief Justices of the Gujarat, Delhi and Telangana High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court of India, and separately appointed an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court.

The Ministry of Law and Justice announced on 5 October 2026 that the President of India has appointed three serving Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The appointments were made under the powers that the Constitution gives the President for naming judges of the higher judiciary.

Who has been elevated

  • Justice Sunita Agarwal, who was heading the Gujarat High Court as its Chief Justice. Her parent High Court is Allahabad.
  • Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who was heading the Delhi High Court as its Chief Justice. His parent High Court is also Allahabad.
  • Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, who was heading the Telangana High Court as its Chief Justice. His parent High Court is Jharkhand.

Two of the three judges therefore come from the Allahabad High Court and one from the Jharkhand High Court. Justice Sunita Agarwal is the only woman among the three named in the notification.

A second appointment the same evening

In a separate notification issued the same day, the Law Ministry said the President has appointed Shri Gurvinder Pal Singh, a judicial officer, as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court. That appointment was made after the President consulted the Chief Justice of India, the step the Constitution requires before a High Court judge is appointed.

Why the two notifications differ

An appointment to the Supreme Court and an appointment to a High Court are made under different provisions, which is why the two releases describe the process in different words. A judge raised from a High Court to the Supreme Court moves from leading a State's highest court to sitting on the country's apex court, while an Additional Judge of a High Court is appointed for a fixed term before being considered for a permanent seat. Both notifications were issued by the Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice in New Delhi.

What an aspirant should carry away

For examinations, the useful pairing is judge to court: Sunita Agarwal with Gujarat, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya with Delhi and Aparesh Kumar Singh with Telangana, each of them a sitting Chief Justice at the time of elevation, with Allahabad as the parent High Court of the first two.

Important Facts

Announced byMinistry of Law and Justice, 5 October 2026
Appointing authorityThe President of India, under powers given by the Constitution
Elevated from Gujarat HCJustice Sunita Agarwal (parent High Court: Allahabad)
Elevated from Delhi HCJustice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (parent High Court: Allahabad)
Elevated from Telangana HCJustice Aparesh Kumar Singh (parent High Court: Jharkhand)
Delhi High Court appointmentShri Gurvinder Pal Singh, judicial officer, as Additional Judge
Consultation requiredThe Chief Justice of India was consulted for the Delhi High Court appointment

Exam Point of View

Remember the three names with the High Courts they led (Sunita Agarwal - Gujarat, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya - Delhi, Aparesh Kumar Singh - Telangana), their parent High Courts (Allahabad for the first two, Jharkhand for the third), that the President makes the appointment, that the Chief Justice of India is consulted for a High Court appointment, and the name Gurvinder Pal Singh for the Delhi High Court.

Practice Questions

Q1.AppointmentsMedium

Justice Sunita Agarwal, appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of India in October 2026, was until then the Chief Justice of which High Court?

  1. A.Allahabad High Court
  2. B.Gujarat High Court
  3. C.Delhi High Court
  4. D.Telangana High Court
Show answer

Correct answer: B. Gujarat High Court

Explanation

The correct answer is Gujarat High Court. The notification of the Ministry of Law and Justice names Justice Sunita Agarwal as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court at the time she was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and records Allahabad as her parent High Court. Option A is wrong because Allahabad is her parent High Court, that is the High Court she originally belonged to, and not the court she was heading when the elevation came. Option C is wrong because the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court named in the same notification is Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, whose parent High Court is also Allahabad. Option D is wrong because the Telangana High Court was being headed by Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, whose parent High Court is Jharkhand. Candidates should keep the pairing of judge and court separate from the pairing of judge and parent High Court, since both are given in the release and both are asked.

Q2.AppointmentsEasy

Who was appointed an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court by the President in the notification issued on 5 October 2026?

  1. A.Shri Gurvinder Pal Singh
  2. B.Shri Aparesh Kumar Singh
  3. C.Shri Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya
  4. D.Shri Tanmay Kumar
Show answer

Correct answer: A. Shri Gurvinder Pal Singh

Explanation

The correct answer is Shri Gurvinder Pal Singh. The Ministry of Law and Justice notification states that the President, after consulting the Chief Justice of India, appointed Shri Gurvinder Pal Singh, a judicial officer, as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court. Option B is wrong because Aparesh Kumar Singh was the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court and he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, not an Additional Judge of a High Court. Option C is wrong because Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya was the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and he too moved to the Supreme Court. Option D is wrong because that name does not figure in either judicial notification of the day. Note the distinction the two notifications draw: for a High Court appointment the release records consultation with the Chief Justice of India, while the Supreme Court notification refers only to the powers the Constitution confers on the President.

Q3.AppointmentsHard

Which of the following statements about the Supreme Court appointments announced on 5 October 2026 is correct?

  1. A.All three judges elevated had Jharkhand as their parent High Court
  2. B.Two of the three judges elevated had Allahabad as their parent High Court
  3. C.All three judges were elevated from the same High Court
  4. D.None of the judges elevated was a serving Chief Justice
Show answer

Correct answer: B. Two of the three judges elevated had Allahabad as their parent High Court

Explanation

The correct answer is two of the three judges elevated had Allahabad as their parent High Court. The notification records Allahabad as the parent High Court of Justice Sunita Agarwal and of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, while Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh belongs to the Jharkhand High Court. Option A is wrong because only Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh has Jharkhand as his parent High Court. Option C is wrong because the three were heading three different High Courts, namely Gujarat, Delhi and Telangana, when they were appointed. Option D is wrong because the notification describes each of the three as a Chief Justice of a High Court at the time of appointment, which is exactly why the release is titled as the appointment of Chief Justices of High Courts as Judges of the Supreme Court. For the examination, remember both the court each judge led and the parent High Court each belongs to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which three Chief Justices were appointed judges of the Supreme Court in October 2026?

Justice Sunita Agarwal of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya of the Delhi High Court and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh of the Telangana High Court, announced by the Ministry of Law and Justice on 5 October 2026.

Who appoints judges of the Supreme Court of India?

The President of India, exercising the powers the Constitution confers. For an appointment to a High Court the President acts after consulting the Chief Justice of India, as the notification on the Delhi High Court appointment records.

Who was appointed an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court?

Shri Gurvinder Pal Singh, a judicial officer, was appointed an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court on 5 October 2026 after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

Sources

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