Supreme Court Collegium proposes second woman as apex court judge in 2026

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Image used for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: S. Subramanium

The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, on Monday (September 28, 2026) recommended Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal for appointment as a Supreme Court judge.

The September 28 recommendation makes it the second time in 2026 that a woman has been proposed to serve on the Supreme Court Bench.

The last time the court saw multiple appointments of women in the same year was in 2021, when Justices Hima Kohli, B.V. Nagarathna, and Bela M. Trivedi were all recommended and appointed together.

In May 2026, Chief Justice Kant’s Collegium had successfully recommended senior advocate (as she was then) V. Mohana’s direct elevation from the Bar to an apex court judgeship. Justice Mohana was appointed along with four other judges to the Supreme Court, the sanctioned strength of which has been increased to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.

Chief Justice Kant’s Collegium also has Justice B.V. Nagarathna among its five members. Justice Nagarathna is in the line of seniority to be the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027.

Justice Agarwal has been recommended first among the batch of three recommended by the Collegium on September 28. The other two are Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

Justice Upadhyaya had in his capacity as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court conducted the preliminary enquiry into allegations against former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, after sacks of half-burnt currency were allegedly found at his official residence in the national capital.

Justice Singh’s parent High Court is Jharkhand while that of both Justices Agarwal and Upadhyaya is the Allahabad High Court.

The apex court currently has four vacancies. The last appointments, besides Justice Mohana, were Justice Sheel Nagu, previously Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana; Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, previously Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, previously Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court; and Justice Arun Palli, previously Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

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