SC collegium recommends elevation of two HC chief justices, Bombay HC judge as apex court judges

New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended the appointments of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice N V Anjaria, Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi, and Bombay High Court judge Justice A S Chandurkar as judges of the top court.

The five-member collegium headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai decided to recommend the names as against the three existing vacancies of judges in the top court following the superannuation of ex-CJI Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Abhay S Oka and Hrishikesh Roy.

"The Supreme Court collegium in its meeting held on May 26, 2025 has recommended elevation of the following chief justices/judge of the high courts, as judges in the Supreme Court – Justice N V Anjaria, Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice A S Chandurkar," said a resolution uploaded on the apex court website.

Besides these three judges, the collegium has also recommended elevation of five high court judges as chief justices of the high courts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gauhati, Patna and Jharkhand.

The collegium recommended that Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who is presently a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, be appointed as the chief justice of that high court.

It said Delhi High Court judge Justice Vibhu Bakhru be appointed as chief justice of the Karnataka High Court.

The collegium recommended that Patna High Court judge Justice Ashutosh Kumar be appointed as the chief justice of the Gauhati High Court.

It recommended that Patna High Court judge Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi be elevated as the chief justice of that high court.

The collegium further recommended that Himachal Pradesh High Court judge Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan be appointed as the chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court.

It said vacancy in the Jharkhand High Court is likely to arise consequent upon transfer of the incumbent chief justice.

Supreme Court judge Justice Bela M Trivedi is also set to superannuate on June 9, and May 16 was her last working day at the apex court.

The top court, which has a sanctioned strength of 34, is currently working with 31 judges.

Justice Anjaria took oath as the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court on February 25, 2024. He was elevated as additional judge, Gujarat High Court, on November 21, 2011 and confirmed as permanent judge on September 6, 2013.

Born on March 23, 1965 at Ahmedabad, Justice Anjaria obtained a Masters degree in law in 1989 from University School of Law, Ahmedabad.

He started law practice in the Gujarat High Court from August 1988 and conducted matters involving constitutional issues and all categories of civil cases, labour and service.

Justice Bishnoi took oath as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on February 5, 2024.

He was appointed additional judge of the Rajasthan High Court on January 8, 2013, and took oath as a permanent judge of the high court on January 7, 2015.

Born on March 26, 1964 in Jodhpur, Justice Bishnoi was enrolled as an advocate on July 8, 1989. He practised law at the Rajasthan High Court and the Central Administrative Tribunal at Jodhpur.

Born on April 7, 1965, Justice Chandurkar joined the Bar on July 21, 1988, after obtaining a law degree.

Justice Chandurkar shifted to Nagpur in 1992 and practised in various courts. He was elevated as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court on June 21, 2013.