Polity & Governancev4 · 4 versions
Collegium & Judicial Appointments in 2026
The collegium, the Chief Justice of India acting with the Supreme Court's senior-most judges, recommends who is appointed to the higher judiciary, while Parliament fixes by law how many judges the Supreme Court may have. On 5 October 2026 the President elevated three High Court Chief Justices, Sunita Agarwal (Gujarat), Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (Delhi) and Aparesh Kumar Singh (Telangana), to a Supreme Court whose sanctioned bench was raised this year to 37 judges besides the Chief Justice.
Last updated 6 October 20265 min read
Latest update
Adds the 5 Oct 2026 elevation of three High Court Chief Justices and recasts the card around appointment, bench strength and removal, dropping debate quotes.
- collegium
- Supreme Court
- Article 124
- Article 123
- NJAC
- judicial appointments
- Number of Judges Ordinance
- Article 218
- sanctioned strength
- High Court Chief Justice
- removal of judges
Read the full living note — free
The complete note in both exam lenses (UPSC analytical / fact capsule), its full version history, and “what changed since you last read” — plus tonight's quiz.
Open in CA·WikiAI-assisted, human-reviewed · sourced from PIB, RBI & ministries · editorial policy
More living notes in Polity & Governance
- Examination Governance After the NEET 2026 LeakAdds a parliamentary committee's 382nd Report on the NTA - computer tests in government centres, a permanent cadre, admission tests only - and trims the card to the R-182 contract.
- Cybercrime in India - The Fraud EpidemicAdds 2024 fraud losses of over Rs 22,800 crore, ASTR's 82 lakh-plus disconnected connections and India's 9 October welcome for ITU joint trials against cross-border telecom fraud.
- NCAHP — Regulating Allied and Healthcare ProfessionsNew card: the 2021 NCAHP Act, the Commission's functions and registers, and the October 2026 rules creating Autonomous Boards and a Central Assessment Committee.
- Regulating India's Higher EducationAdds the UGC Letter of Intent reported for the University of Colorado Denver's Hyderabad campus, set to be Telangana's first foreign university campus.
- Key Appointments - 2026 TrackerAdds Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, named on 6 October to become the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on 31 October, succeeding Air Chief Marshal AP Singh; 49 rows.
- The Election Commission Under ScrutinyAdds the Supreme Court's 5 October refusal to suspend the CEC over SIR decisions allegedly taken without fellow Commissioners' concurrence; notices issued, the plea is pending.