The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the appointment of Justice Subhash Upadhyay, currently an Additional Judge, as a Permanent Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court, confirming a judge with domain expertise in service law who was elevated to the Bench in May 2025.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposal for the appointment of Justice Subhash Upadhyay, an Additional Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court, as a Permanent Judge of that High Court.
The decision was taken by the Collegium in its meeting held on September 23, 2026, and notified through a statement uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website.
“The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on 23rd September 2026, has approved the proposal for appointment of Shri Justice Subhash Upadhyay, Additional Judge as Permanent Judge of the High Court of Uttarakhand.”
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Who is Justice Subhash Upadhyay
According to the Uttarakhand High Court’s official records, Justice Upadhyay was born on December 12, 1972, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, with his native village in Tehsil Salt, District Almora, in Uttarakhand. He completed his B.Sc., LL.B. and a Master’s in Social Work from Lucknow University, and was enrolled as an advocate in 1998.
He began his practice at the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in civil, constitutional and service matters, and, after the creation of the State of Uttarakhand, shifted his practice to the Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital. Over the years, he held a series of law-officer positions for the State: he was appointed a Brief Holder for Uttarakhand in 2002, Standing Counsel in 2012, and Chief Standing Counsel for the State from 2014 to 2016. He had also served as counsel for institutions including the G.B. Pant Engineering College, Pauri Garhwal, the Nagar Nigam, Rishikesh, and the Uttarakhand Cooperative Federation.
Justice Upadhyay was appointed an Additional Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court and assumed charge on May 30, 2025. When the Supreme Court Collegium had earlier considered his name for elevation from the Bar, it had recorded that he was a competent counsel with domain expertise in service law, and found him fit and suitable for appointment as a Judge of the High Court.
Additional judge to permanent judge: the process
The confirmation reflects the two-stage manner in which many High Court judges are inducted. Under Article 224 of the Constitution, a person may first be appointed an Additional Judge of a High Court for a limited period, typically to deal with a temporary increase in business or arrears, while a Permanent Judge is appointed under Article 217. The elevation of an additional judge to permanent status is not automatic; it follows a fresh recommendation by the High Court Collegium and approval by the Supreme Court Collegium, and, in the case of additional judges, is frequently preceded by an assessment of the judgments the judge has rendered during the additional tenure.
The Collegium’s approval is the recommendation stage of the appointment. The formal appointment will follow the issuance of a warrant of appointment by the President, upon the Central Government’s processing of the recommendation. The Uttarakhand High Court has a sanctioned strength of 11 judges (nine permanent and two additional), and appointments such as this go towards filling that strength and reducing vacancies on the Bench.
Source: Statement of the Supreme Court Collegium dated September 23, 2026, on the appointment of Justice Subhash Upadhyay as a Permanent Judge of the High Court of Uttarakhand. Biographical details are from the Uttarakhand High Court’s official records.