Patanjali Civil Services Academy

Supreme Court Collegium — Upcoming Appointments [Prelims Bits]

Tags: Polity & Constitution Executive & Judiciary Court structures

Source: The Hindu

Context: All 25 High Courts now have regular Chief Justices after the Centre notified 8 appointments; the Collegium is now expected to consider 4 existing Supreme Court vacancies.
Supreme Court strength: Sanctioned strength was raised to 34 judges in 2026; currently 30 judges, leaving 4 vacancies.
Additional vacancy: Justice Satish Chandra Sharma retires on 29 November 2026, creating a 5th vacancy.
CJI succession: Under the seniority convention, the likely succession currently extends through Vikram Nath → B.V. Nagarathna → P.S. Narasimha → J.B. Pardiwala → K.V. Viswanathan → Joymalya Bagchi → Vipul Pancholi.
Women in SC: Only Justice B.V. Nagarathna is currently a woman Supreme Court judge and member of the Collegium.
Women among HC Chief Justices: Sunita Agarwal (Gujarat), Lisa Gill (Andhra Pradesh), Revati Mohite Dere (Meghalaya) are the only sitting women HC Chief Justices.
CJI significance: Justice B.V. Nagarathna is in line to become India’s first woman Chief Justice of India under the existing seniority sequence.
- Collegium: The CJI + four senior-most Supreme Court judges constitute the Supreme Court Collegium for appointments/elevations to the SC and HC.

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the present composition and succession of the higher judiciary:

Justice B.V. Nagarathna is presently the only woman judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Justice B.V. Nagarathna is in the current seniority sequence for becoming the first woman Chief Justice of India.
The retirement of a sitting Supreme Court judge automatically results in the immediate appointment of the next person in the seniority sequence as Chief Justice of India.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None

Answer: (b) Only two

Explanation:

1 is correct: Justice B.V. Nagarathna is currently the only woman among the sitting Supreme Court judges.
2 is correct: Under the prevailing seniority convention, she is in line to become India's first woman CJI.
3 is incorrect: Retirement creates a vacancy but does not automatically trigger CJI succession. The CJI's appointment is a separate constitutional process involving the President and the established seniority convention.