The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the appointment of 12 additional judges as permanent judges in four High Courts: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, and Gauhati.
On September 23, 2026, during a meeting led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath and B.V. Nagarathna, the Collegium decided to appoint five additional judges to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. These include Shri Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam @ Kuncham, Shri Justice Thoota Chandra Dhana Sekar @ T.C.D. Sekhar, Shri Justice Challa Gunaranjan, Shri Justice Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma, and Dr. Justice Yadavalli Lakshmana Rao.
For the Kerala High Court, the Collegium approved the appointment of Justices P. Krishna Kumar, K.V. Jayakumar, Muralee Krishna S, Jobin Sebastian, and P.V. Balakrishnan as permanent judges.
In Uttarakhand, Justice Subhash Upadhyay was appointed as a permanent judge. Similarly, in Gauhati, Justice Kaushik Goswami was approved for the same role.
The decision has sparked criticism from some quarters, with Justice Datta calling it an attempt to conceal government failures.