The Centre on Wednesday cleared the names of the chief justices of Patna and Bombay high courts, Vipul Manubhai Pancholi and Alok Aradhe, within two days of the Supreme Court collegium recommending their elevation.

The elevation of Justice Pancholi, who hails from Gujarat, comes against the backdrop of a dissent note given by collegium member Justice B.V. Nagarathna.

The five-member collegium had recommended both names for elevation on Monday.

Within 48 hours, an official notification issued by the law ministry stated that President Droupadi Murmu was “pleased” to appoint the two judges to the Supreme Court. With this, the apex court has reached its total strength of 34 judges, including Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai.

Besides Justice Pancholi, there are two judges from Gujarat in the apex court — Justices J.B. Pardiwala and N.V. Anjaria.

Justice Pardiwala is in line to become CJI on May 3, 2028, and will stay in office till August 11, 2030.

Justice Pancholi is scheduled to become CJI on October 2, 2031, after Justice K.V. Viswanathan retires, and can have an 18-month tenure.

The Centre’s swift clearance of the names of Justices Pancholi and Aradhe has come as a surprise for legal observers, given several instances of standoff between the government and the collegium over recommendations for elevation.

The Campaign for Judicial Accountability had on Tuesday expressed “dismay” over the collegium’s decision to elevate Justice Pancholi despite the dissent note.

It had cited a news report to state that Justice Nagarathna had, in her dissent note, stated that several meritorious and more senior judges had been bypassed while recommending him. She had reportedly stated that Justice Pancholi, as the future CJI, would not be in the institution’s interest.