A major shake-up for Delhi high court: 6 new judges, collegium shuffle

The reshuffle brings with it not only an influx of new judicial minds from outside Delhi, but also a shift in the court’s seniority hierarchy

The Delhi high court is poised for a shake-up in its administrative, judicial, and collegium structure, with the Centre on Monday finally notifying the transfer of six judges to the Delhi high court and appointment of high court’s seniormost judge Vibhu Bakhru as chief justice of Karnataka High Court, recommended by the Supreme Court, one-and-a-half months ago.

Seniority in the court determines several factors such as distribution of roster, potential elevations to the Supreme Court or elevation as chief justice. (HT Archive)

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai, and comprising justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari and BV Nagarathna, had on May 26 recommended the transfer of 22 high court judges across the country, appointments of chief justices to five high courts, and shuffling of four incumbent high court chiefs.

The collegium also proposed six judges to be posted to the Delhi high court – justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre (Bombay HC), Vivek Chaudhary and Om Prakash Shukla (both from Allahabad HC), Anil Kshetarpal (Punjab and Haryana HC), Arun Kumar Monga (Rajasthan HC), and V Kameshwar Rao, who is to be repatriated to Delhi from Karnataka. In addition, justice Vibhu Bakhru—currently the senior most judge after chief justice DK Upadhyay— was recommended as the chief justice of the Karnataka high court.

The reshuffle brings with it not only an influx of new judicial minds from outside Delhi, but also a shift in the court’s seniority hierarchy and a reconstitution of its powerful three-member collegium.

Currently, the body – which recommends names for HC judges to Supreme Court collegium – comprises chief justice Upadhyaya, justice Bakhru, and justice Prathiba M Singh. The acceptance of the collegium’s recommendation would now result in justices V Kameshwar Rao and Nitin Sambre joining collegium as the two senior-most judges after the chief justice. Both are more senior than justice Singh.

Justice Rao, originally elevated to the Delhi high court in 2013 and transferred to Karnataka in early 2024, is now expected to become the senior-most judge after the chief justice. Justice Sambre, elevated in 2014, will follow. This would place Justice Vivek Chaudhary as third in seniority (after the chief justice), pushing justices Prathiba Singh and Navin Chawla down to fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Seniority in the court determines several factors such as distribution of roster, potential elevations to the Supreme Court or elevation as chief justice — this was done in the case of justice Bakhru being elevated as Karnataka HC chief justice.

The reconstitution will also affect the permanent committee for designating senior advocates, which, as per an April Supreme Court directive, includes the chief justice, two senior-most judges, a government nominee, a Union law officer, and a representative of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA).

While the recommendations were in the process of being notified, HT had spoken to various advocates practicing before the Delhi high court, many of whom had viewed the collegium’s recommendations as a pivotal movement for the institution.

“The recent proposed reshuffle in the Delhi HC marks a pivotal moment for the institution. With two of the three judges in the court’s collegium now coming from outside Delhi, the inter-se seniority among judges has undergone a significant realignment,” said senior advocate Vikas Pahwa. Pahwa noted that this could influence not just judicial assignments and bench formations, but also the collegium’s role in recommending appointments and elevations.

Senior advocates Siddharth Luthra and Abhijat welcomed the infusion of new judges as a much-needed boost to the court’s depleted strength. “The Delhi HC is in desperate need of more judges, given the immense workload and reduced bench strength,” said Abhijat. Luthra added, “With so many judges coming to Delhi, the shortfall that we were feeling of an immediate nature will be met. But further judges must be appointed not only to Delhi but all high courts.”

Some advocates also pointed to the diversity and potential benefits brought by judges from outside jurisdictions. Senior advocate Manish Vashisht said the move could “reinforce public trust in judicial impartiality” by “curbing local influences”. Advocate Ashish Dixit described Delhi HC as a “cosmopolitan court” and said the reshuffle would enrich its identity further.

Former DHCBA vice-president, Jatan Singh, acknowledged the increased strength but lamented the disturbance to the existing seniority hierarchy. “This is my personal view that the decision to transfer is a welcome move … but it is painful to see that the transfer would disturb the current seniority of judges,” Singh said.

Pahwa said, “It introduces fresh perspectives but also presents challenges to institutional continuity and internal cohesion—hallmarks of an effective and stable judiciary. Moreover, the reordering of seniority will inevitably influence the trajectory of future leadership within the court, including potential elevations to the position of chief justice and the Supreme Court.”

These developments mark the second major reshuffle in the Delhi high court this year.

The first was the transfer of justice Yashwant Varma to Allahabad high court, following the alleged recovery of wads of cash from his residence on March 14. The Centre gave its consent to the collegium’s resolution on March 28. Varma, while he was in Delhi HC, was the second most senior judge — after chief justice Upadhyay and justice Bakhru.

On the same day, the Centre also accepted the collegium’s November 2024 recommendation to repatriate justice CD Singh to Allahabad HC. Then on April 1, another transfer was rolled out with justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma moving to Calcutta HC.