Centre Clears Appointment of 5 New Supreme Court Judges; Supreme Court Strength Rises to 37

The Central Government has officially cleared the appointment of five new judges to the Supreme Court of India, marking a significant expansion of the apex court following the recent increase in its sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges through a government ordinance.

The appointments were announced by Arjun Ram Meghwal and come after recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant.

With these appointments, 37 out of 38 sanctioned positions in the Supreme Court now stand filled.

⚖️ Newly Appointed Supreme Court Judges

The five appointees include four High Court Chief Justices and one Senior Advocate directly elevated from the Bar:

• Justice Sheel Nagu
• Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
• Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva
• Justice Arun Palli
• V Mohana

👨‍⚖️ Justice Sheel Nagu

Before his elevation, Justice Sheel Nagu served as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while his parent High Court is the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Born on January 1, 1965, he enrolled as an advocate in 1987 and practised mainly in civil, constitutional, and service law matters. He became an Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2011 and a Permanent Judge in 2013.

Justice Nagu later served as Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court before being appointed Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2024.

He was also part of the in-house inquiry committee examining the Justice Yashwant Varma cash-at-residence controversy. His tenure at the Supreme Court will continue until December 31, 2029.

👨‍⚖️ Justice Shree Chandrashekhar

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar previously served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and belongs to the Jharkhand High Court.

Born in Ranchi on May 25, 1965, he graduated from Campus Law Centre and enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council in 1993. After nearly two decades of legal practice, he became an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court in 2013 and a Permanent Judge in 2014.

Justice Chandrashekhar later served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court and was subsequently elevated as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in September 2025.

His benches handled several high-profile matters, including the Sohrabuddin Shaikh encounter case, the Malegaon blasts case, and litigation concerning the Versova–Bhayandar coastal road project.

His appointment is also significant because Jharkhand currently had no representation in the Supreme Court. He will retire on May 24, 2030.

👨‍⚖️ Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva has been serving as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, while his parent High Court is the Delhi High Court.

Born on December 26, 1964, he studied at Sri Ram College of Commerce and Campus Law Centre. He qualified as an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court in 1995 and was designated Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in 2011.

Justice Sachdeva became an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2013 and a Permanent Judge in 2015. He was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2024 and became its Chief Justice in July 2025.

He also served as Standing Counsel for the Bar Council of India for over two decades and chaired a National Court Management Systems sub-committee related to judicial human resource development.

👨‍⚖️ Justice Arun Palli

Justice Arun Palli served as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh prior to his elevation.

Born in Patiala on September 18, 1964, Justice Palli graduated in law from Panjab University in 1988. He practised extensively before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and served as Additional Advocate General for Punjab between 2004 and 2007. He was designated Senior Advocate in 2007.

He became a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2013 and later took oath as Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court in April 2025.

Justice Palli also worked as Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority and promoted mediation and Lok Adalat initiatives.

👩‍⚖️ Senior Advocate V Mohana Creates History

V Mohana has become only the second woman in Indian history to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court after Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018.

With her elevation, she will also be among the very few sitting women judges in the Supreme Court alongside Justice BV Nagarathna.

Born on June 27, 1966, in Coimbatore, she graduated from Coimbatore Law College in 1988. She trained under Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan and became an Advocate-on-Record in 1996. She was designated Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in 2015.

Interestingly, she was a classmate of Supreme Court Judge Justice KV Viswanathan and worked in the office of former Attorney General KK Venugopal.

She has appeared in several landmark matters relating to permanent commission for women officers in the armed forces, senior citizens’ property rights, and the Karnataka hijab ban case.

Her appointment will make her the 12th woman judge in the history of the Supreme Court. Since she has been elevated directly from the Bar, she will enjoy a relatively longer tenure and is expected to retire in June 2031.

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