Who is Vipul Pancholi, the Gujarati Patna HC judge recommended by the collegium to the SC?

The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended the elevation of Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi as a judge of the apex court.

“The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 25 August, 2025 recommended elevation of the following Chief Justices of the High Courts, as the judges in the Supreme Court: (i) Justice Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice, High Court of Bombay (PHC: High Court of Madhya Pradesh) (ii) Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Chief Justice, High Court of Judicature at Patna, (PHC: High Court of Gujarat),” read the Collegium’s resolution published on the apex court website. 

The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, and is presently functioning with 32 judges, leaving two vacancies. 

Who is Vipul Pancholi?

Born on May 28, 1968, in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Justice Pancholi completed his BSc in Electronics and LLM in Commercial Law from Gujarat University. 

He joined the Bar in 1991 and served as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor at the Gujarat High Court for seven years. 

Till 2006, Justice Pancholi served as an assistant public prosecutor. He also served as visiting faculty at Ahmedabad’s Sir L A Shah Law College before being elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court on October 1, 2014, and became a Permanent Judge on June 10, 2016. 

He was transferred to the Patna High Court in July 2023 and took charge as its Chief Justice on July 21, 2025.