Appointment of Supreme Court Judge from Gujarat Reopens Debate on Judiciary; After US Tariffs, All Eyes Turn to China

A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK

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Snapshot of the day

August 27, 2025

Siddharth Varadarajan

If Trump’s tariffs are upending the world order, waiting in the wings to help reshape the pieces is Chinese President Xi Jinping. Later this week, Xi will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and some 18 other heads of government for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit at Tianjin. "This summit is about optics, really powerful optics," Reuters quotes one expert as saying.

The centre has notified the appointments of Justice Alok Aradhe (presently Chief Justice of Bombay High Court) and Justice Vipul Pancholi (CJ of Patna HC) as Supreme Court judges, two days after the Supreme Court Collegium’s recommendation for their elevation. The Collegium’s recommendation for Justice Pancholi’s elevation sparked a controversy after reports emerged that Justice BV Nagarathna of the Supreme Court had dissented in the Collegium meeting. Justice Nagarathna reportedly cited his relatively low rank in the All India Seniority and also raised concerns about the reasons behind his transfer from the Gujarat High Court to the Patna High Court in 2023. Also, the fact that Gujarat High Court already has two judges in the Supreme Court is also understood to have been raised.

Against the backdrop of Justice Nagarathna's dissent, The Leaflet recalls a number of previous instances where judges in the Supreme Court collegium – including Justices J Chelameswar, Rohinton Nariman and DY Chandrachud – objected to the prospect of elevating certain judges, even by going to the extent of boycotting collegium meetings.

Such a controversial appointment raises serious concerns. Any alleged incriminating material the government holds against Justice Pancholi could leave him vulnerable to pressure and blackmail—undermining not only his