Overview

• After conducting 54 face-to-face interviews over July 1–3 during the court’s partial working days, the collegium cleared a record 36 names for elevation to 25 High Courts.
• The interview process supplements state government and Intelligence Bureau inputs with assessments of candidates’ personality, temperament and grasp of constitutional values.
• Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath jointly led the sessions, signaling leadership continuity across current and successive Supreme Court terms.
• The accelerated vetting push aims to address a backlog of 371 vacancies against a sanctioned strength of 1,122 judgeships, which has long delayed bench strength restoration.
• Procedural reforms now codify personal interviews during ‘partial working days,’ ensuring the appointments process proceeds uninterrupted through the traditional summer break.