SC reaches full strength of 34, gender gap persists with just one woman judge
New Delhi: With the swearing-in of Justices Alok Aradhe and Vipul Pancholi today, the Supreme Court of India has reached its full sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
Among the 34, Justice BV Nagarathna continues to be the only woman on the Bench. She is also in line to become the country’s first woman Chief Justice of India.
The recommendation to elevate Justices Aradhe and Pancholi was made by the Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari, and BV Nagarathna. The Centre cleared the appointments on August 27.
However, Justice Pancholi’s elevation has sparked debate, particularly since he was 57th in the seniority list of High Court judges. Justice Nagarathna, a member of the Collegium, dissented against his appointment, reportedly stating that it could undermine the credibility of the collegium system and affect the administration of justice.
The decision has also drawn criticism as three senior women High Court judges, Justices Sunita Agarwal, Revati Mohite Dere, and Lisa Gill, were overlooked for elevation. No woman judge has been appointed to the top court since 2021, when Justices Hima Kohli, Bela Trivedi, and BV Nagarathna were sworn in.
Justice Pancholi, whose parent High Court is Gujarat, is now in line to serve as India’s 60th Chief Justice in 2031. He becomes the third sitting Supreme Court judge from the Gujarat High Court.
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Four of family killed as car jumps divider on highway in Gujarat's Panchmahal
Godhra (Gujarat) (PTI): Four members of a family were killed, and one sustained grievous injuries after their speeding car jumped a divider on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway corridor in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Monday, police said.
The car driver lost control of the wheels near Kalol. As a result, the four-wheeler jumped the divider and veered off to the other side of the highway, an official from Kalol police station said.
Soon after the accident, some locals rushed to the scene and also alerted the police. Efforts were made to pull out the people trapped in the car.
Four persons died on the spot, while one suffered injuries, the official said.
The deceased were members of a family from Vadodara and were returning from Rajasthan when the tragedy struck, the official said.
They have been identified as Sajid Iqbal Khinji (55), Ilyas Iqbal Khinji (50), Ishaq Iqbal Khinji (48) and Rehan Azgar Khinji (35).
