Pankaj Mithal

Justice Pankaj Mithal was born on 17 June 1961 into a family with deep legal roots — his grandfather, uncle, and father were all lawyers, and his father was a judge of the Allahabad High Court. He enrolled as an advocate in 1985.

He was elevated as Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court on 7 July 2006 and delivered over 37,000 judgments during his High Court tenure. He served as Chief Justice of both J&K High Court (2021–2022) and Rajasthan High Court (2022–2023) before his Supreme Court elevation.

Notable rulings include holding that sub-classification within Scheduled Castes is permissible for reservation, holding that stay orders cannot automatically lapse without a formal vacation application, and confirming that a Light Motor Vehicle licence covers transport vehicles.