NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended elevation of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya as a judge of the apex court.
Upadhyaya enrolled as an advocate on May 11, 1991, and joined the chambers of his father, R A Upadhyaya. He later served as Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh from May 2007 until his elevation as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011.
He took oath as a permanent judge of the court on August 6, 2013, and became Senior Judge of its Lucknow Bench on March 28, 2023. He was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay on July 29, 2023, and was later transferred as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on January 21, 2025.
During his tenure at the Delhi High Court, a bench headed by him heard pleas related to the Satya Niketan building collapse, allegations of violence and violation of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and judicial orders during the DUSU polls, and protests by the CJP and several other organisations at Jantar Mantar.
During the Satya Niketan matter, he said the dreams and hopes of young students who lost their lives in the recent Satya Niketan PG collapse had been “shattered” by the “callous and criminal” conduct of the authorities. While hearing the DUSU matter, he said, “We are more than conscious that we are a democratic society, but we are also conscious that this democracy can’t be converted into a criminal society.”
In another order passed in August, his bench directed the Commissioner of Delhi Police to conduct a survey of all police stations in the national capital and install women’s washrooms with sanitary pad vending machines at stations lacking such facilities. It directed that the survey be completed within six weeks.
