Centre appoints five new judges to Supreme Court, raises strength of top court to 37

The Centre on June 1 appointed five new judges to the Supreme Court, clearing the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium last week and taking the strength of the apex court to 37 judges against a sanctioned strength of 38.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments, stating that the President had approved the elevation of four High Court Chief Justices and one senior advocate to the country’s highest court.

The newly appointed judges are Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Justice Arun Palli and senior advocate V Mohana. Their names had been recommended by the Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on May 27.

The appointments come shortly after the government increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges through an ordinance, a move aimed at addressing the growing backlog of cases and improving the court’s capacity to handle pending matters.

Among the five appointees, V Mohana’s elevation is being seen as particularly significant. She will become one of the few judges appointed directly from the Bar and only the second woman advocate in the history of the Supreme Court to be elevated directly to the apex court bench after Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018.

The appointments also improve gender representation in the Supreme Court, which currently has only one sitting woman judge, B V Nagarathna.

Justice Sheel Nagu was serving as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and previously served in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, whose parent High Court is Jharkhand, was serving as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva headed the Madhya Pradesh High Court, while Justice Arun Palli was serving as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

The latest appointments are expected to reduce vacancies in the apex court and strengthen judicial capacity at a time when concerns over case pendency and judicial workload remain a major focus of legal and policy discussions.

With the court now nearing its full sanctioned strength, the Collegium is expected to consider additional recommendations later this year as further retirements take place.