Lucknow, Sep 28 Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya is the second legal practitioner from the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench to be elevated to the Supreme Court in the last 25 years.
Justice Upadhyaya began his legal and judicial career in Lucknow and served for more than 11 years as a judge of the Lucknow bench before becoming a chief justice.
"Justice Upadhyaya is the only second legal practitioner of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court to be elevated as a Supreme Court judge in the last 25 years. Before him, it was only Justice Brijesh Kumar who was elevated as a Supreme Court judge in 2000," advocate Ritika Singh Sisodiya said.
According to the Delhi High Court’s website, Justice Upadhyaya was born on June 16, 1965, in Muskarai village of Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh.
He completed his law degree from Lucknow University in 1991 and enrolled as an advocate on May 11, 1991.
He began his legal career by joining the chambers of his father, RA Upadhyaya, who practised before the Board of Revenue.
He also worked with senior advocates Mohammad Arif Khan and SK Kalia.
Justice Upadhyaya primarily practised in civil and constitutional matters at the Lucknow Bench.
In May 2007, Justice Upadhyaya was appointed as Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Standing Counsel – a position he held until his elevation to the High Court Bench in November 2011.
Justice Upadhyaya was appointed a judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011. He later became the senior judge of the Lucknow Bench on March 28, 2023.
Justice Upadhyaya was then appointed the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and took an oath on July 29, 2023.
In January 2025, the Union government notified his transfer as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He took the oath of office on January 21, 2025, the website said.
On Monday, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended three High Court Chief Justices for elevation to judges of the apex court.
The three judges recommended by the collegium are: Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh.
The collegium comprised Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath, B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh and P S Narasimha.
The Collegium's recommendation will now be processed in accordance with the established procedure for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.
