Centre Appoints Five New Supreme Court Judges

Source: The Hindu  

Introduction 

The Central Government approved the appointment of five new judges to the Supreme Court of India under Article 124(2) of the Constitution, raising the court's working strength to 37 — one short of its newly enhanced sanctioned strength of 38. The appointments were made on the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

Background 

• The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated by President Droupadi Murmu, increased the court's sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges, including the CJI. The move was described as unusually swift — a rare instance of Presidential promulgation to expand the apex court's sitting strength. The official notification cited speedy justice delivery and reduction of case pendency as its rationale. 
• The 27 May 2026 Collegium resolution was the first under CJI Surya Kant since he assumed office in November 2025. In keeping with the practice of his predecessors — the Collegiums led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna and CJI B.R. Gavai — the resolution did not disclose details of the deliberations.  
• Following Union Government approval, all five recommended names were formally appointed. With two retirements scheduled for June 2026, the Collegium is expected to recommend additional judges in July 2026, after it returns from its six-week Partial Working Days.

Newly Appointed Judges 

Justice Sheel Nagu (Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court) 

• Born on 1 January 1965, Justice Nagu enrolled with the Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh in October 1987 and practised in civil and constitutional matters.  
• He was elevated as Additional Judge of the MP High Court in May 2011 and became a Permanent Judge in May 2013.  
• He served as Acting Chief Justice of the MP High Court before his appointment as Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court. His elevation to the Supreme Court comes seven months before his scheduled retirement on 31 December 2026.  
• Three sitting Supreme Court judges — Justices J.K. Maheshwari, S.C. Sharma, and Alok Aradhe — hail from the MP High Court; Justice Maheshwari is set to retire on 28 June 2026. 

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar (Chief Justice, Bombay High Court) 

• Born on 25 May 1965, Justice Chandrashekhar enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1993 and specialised in civil and criminal matters, with over 140 reported Supreme Court judgments as counsel.  
• Originally from the Jharkhand High Court, his elevation fills a gap in regional representation — the Supreme Court currently has no sitting judge from Jharkhand.  
• He was appointed Additional Judge in Jharkhand on 17 January 2013 and became a Permanent Judge in June 2014.  
• He was also a member of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee that submitted its report to Speaker Om Birla in the Justice Yashwant Varma case. His elevation comes one year before his High Court retirement.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva (Chief Justice, Madhya Pradesh High Court) 

• Born on 26 December 1964, Justice Sachdeva enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1988 and was appointed Additional Judge in 2013.  
• An alumnus of Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, he joins a distinguished list of Supreme Court judges from the same institution — including former CJIs D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices S.K. Kaul, S.R. Bhat, Hrishikesh Roy, B.V. Nagarathna, N.K. Singh, and Manmohan.  
• Justice Manmohan is currently the sole sitting Supreme Court judge from the Delhi High Court; Justice Sachdeva's appointment will raise Delhi HC representation to two. His elevation comes seven months before his retirement. 

Justice Arun Palli (Chief Justice, J&K and Ladakh High Court) 

• Born on 18 September 1964, Justice Palli comes from a family of practising advocates in Patiala. He served as Additional Advocate General for Punjab between 2004 and 2007 before his elevation as Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court on 28 December 2013.  
• Two sitting Supreme Court judges currently hail from Punjab & Haryana — CJI Surya Kant and Justice A.G. Masih. Justice Rajesh Bindal, who retired in April 2026, also came from the same High Court. Justice Palli's appointment is seen as an effort to sustain Punjab & Haryana's representation at three judges on the Supreme Court bench. His elevation comes four months before his retirement. 

Senior Advocate V. Mohana (Direct Bar Appointment) 

• In a historic move, Senior Advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana becomes only the second woman advocate in the Supreme Court's history to be elevated directly from the Bar — the first being Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018.  
• This is also the first appointment of a woman judge to the Supreme Court since August 2021. Justice B.V. Nagarathna is currently the sole woman on the bench and a member of the Collegium. Two sitting judges — Justices P.S. Narasimha and K.V. Viswanathan — were also elevated directly from the Bar.

Significance 

• Judicial Capacity: The expansion to 37 working judges will enable the constitution of more regular Constitution Benches, addressing long-pending constitutional questions and reducing case pendency. 
• Gender Diversity: Mohana's appointment partially addresses the longstanding under-representation of women in the higher judiciary, though the bench will still have only two women judges out of 37. 
• Regional Representation: The appointments restore geographic balance — notably filling the void for Jharkhand through Justice Chandrashekhar and sustaining Punjab & Haryana's representation through Justice Palli. 
• Bar Elevation: Direct elevation from the Bar remains rare; Mohana's appointment reinforces it as a legitimate and valued pathway to the Supreme Court.

Article 124(2) of the Constitution of India provides that every judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose, and shall always include consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

Conclusion 

The appointment of five new Supreme Court judges marks a significant step in addressing the apex court's longstanding capacity constraints. The expansion — enabled by the swiftly promulgated Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026 — brings the court's working strength to 37, its highest ever. Beyond numbers, the appointments carry broader institutional significance: Mohana's historic elevation from the Bar addresses, at least partially, the persistent concern over gender under-representation in the higher judiciary, while the inclusion of a judge from Jharkhand restores a regional voice that had been absent from the bench. With two more retirements expected in June 2026, the Collegium's next round of recommendations will be closely watched — both for further diversity and for the court's readiness to constitute more regular Constitution Benches on pressing constitutional questions.