In December 2025, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended five High Court Chief Justices, and the Central government announced their nominations.
The goal of the Judicial Appointments Tracker is to offer monthly updates on a candidate's appointment status from the moment the Supreme Court Collegium recommends them for a judgeship until the Central government approves the appointment.
The Collegium's recommendations and the selections announced by the Central government in January 2026 are detailed below.
On December 18, 2025, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended five candidates for High Court Chief Justices, and the Center approved the appointments of two of them.
On January 1, the government announced that Bombay High Court judge Justice Revati Mohite Dere had been appointed Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. On January 10, she took the oath of office as Chief Justice.
The appointment came about as a result of Justice Soumen Sen, the chief justice of the Meghalaya High Court, being transferred to the Kerala High Court. On January 1, notice of Justice Sen's transfer was also given. After Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar resigned, he took over on January 10.
The same day, it was also announced that Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo, a judge from the Orissa High Court, had been appointed Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. On January 7, he was sworn in.
Justice MS Sonak of the Bombay High Court was approved by the central government to serve as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. After its meeting on December 18, the Collegium also recommended his name.
On January 8, 2026, Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan retired, and Justice Sonak took over as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.
Two judicial officers, Ramesh Chander Dimri and Neerja Kulwant Kalson, were appointed as additional judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the Central government on January 2.
Their appointment was recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium following a meeting on December 16, 2025.
On January 3, the Center announced the nomination of Justice A Muhamed Mustaque of the Kerala High Court as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, approving another suggestion from the December 18 meeting.
The very next day, Justice Mustaque took the oath.
Advocates Ritesh Kumar and Praveen Kumar were approved by the Central government to serve as Patna High Court justices.
In February 2025, over a year ago, the Supreme Court collegium recommended that counsel Ritesh Kumar be elevated. In July 2025, it was suggested that advocate Praveen Kumar be promoted.
Additionally, the Center announced that attorney Jai Krishna Upadhyay has been appointed to the Allahabad High Court as a judge.
At a meeting on September 1, 2025, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended that Upadhyay be appointed after approving a group of 26 names for promotion to the High Court.
He was one of the advocates in that batch who was suggested for appointment by the Bar.
Upadhyay's nomination was not approved at the time, however the Central government approved the appointment of 24 of the 26 recommendees to the High Court on September 26, 2025.
On January 5, it was subsequently cleared.
Advocate Adnan Ahmad's elevation recommendation is still waiting.
On January 8, 2026, the Central government announced the nomination of Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta, a judge from the Allahabad High Court, as Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, approving the last of the five recommendations given by the Collegium on December 18, 2025.
On January 9, he took over following the superannuation of Chief Justice G Narendar.
The Central government announced that Justice Sujoy Paul, a judge on the Calcutta High Court, has been appointed Chief Justice of the court.
The nomination came about as a result of the Collegium's January 9, 2026, meeting proposal.
After a meeting on January 28, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended that Advocate M Balaji be promoted to the position of judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
On February 10, the Center announced his appointment, and on February 12, he took his oath of office.
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