Senior Advocate V. Mohana has become only the second woman in India’s history to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court, after Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018. Her appointment strengthens women’s representation in the top court, where Justice B V Nagarathna is also serving.
Senior Advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana, whose appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court was approved by the Central Government on Monday, has become only the second woman in India to be directly elevated to the Supreme Court from the Bar, after Justice Indu Malhotra, who was appointed in 2018.
Mohana will join the two serving women judges in the Supreme Court, alongside Justice B V Nagarathna, who has been a judge in the top court since August 31, 2021. Justice Nagarathna will also become the Chief Justice of India for more than a month in 2027.
Mohana, 59, graduated from the Coimbatore Law College in 1988 and has been in practice since then. The Supreme Court designated her as a senior advocate in 2015. She has argued in several high-profile cases, including those concerning permanent commission for women officers in the armed forces, senior citizens’ property rights, and the Karnataka hijab ban case.
Senior Advocate V Mohana. Mohana belonged to the first-ever batch of India’s five-year integrated law programme introduced after higher secondary education. She graduated in 1988 from Coimbatore Law College, now known as Government Law College, Coimbatore.
Her appointment will make her the 12th woman judge in the Supreme Court’s history, and the second woman to be elevated directly from the Bar. She is scheduled to retire in June 2031.
Justice M Fathima Beevi was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court in 1989. She was elevated after serving as a high court judge.
At one point, when Justice Indu Malhotra was a judge, the Supreme Court had three women judges, with Justice R Banumathi and Justice Indira Banerjee being the other two.
Malhotra was sworn in as a top court judge directly from the Bar on April 27, 2018. She retired in March 2021.
There are currently two other judges in the apex court who were also elevated directly from the Bar Justices P S Narasimha and K V Viswanathan.
Mohana’s appointment is considered significant from a gender-representation perspective.
Once the five new judges appointed on Monday take oath and assume charge, the Supreme Court will officially have 37 judges.
Along with Mohana, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court; and Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, were elevated as Supreme Court judges on Monday.
Last month, the government promulgated an ordinance amending a law to increase the sanctioned strength of the apex court from 34 to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
Although there were already two vacancies, after the sanctioned strength was increased, six posts became vacant in the apex court.
Following the five appointments made on Monday, the Supreme Court now has one vacancy.
On May 27, the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended the five names.
The newly appointed judges are Senior Advocate V Mohana, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, and Justice Arun Palli. The appointments were formally approved and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the development on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning.
Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, who was serving as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, has also been elevated to the apex court. Prior to leading the Bombay High Court, he served as a judge of the Jharkhand High Court and was known for delivering several important judgments involving constitutional governance, public administration, and criminal justice.
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Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, is another member of the new batch of Supreme Court judges. Before assuming the office of Chief Justice, he served for several years as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and developed expertise across diverse areas of law.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who presently serves as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, has also been elevated. He was earlier a judge of the Delhi High Court, where he handled a broad spectrum of matters including constitutional disputes, civil litigation, service law, and criminal appeals.
Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, completes the list of newly appointed Supreme Court judges. Justice Palli previously served as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and has been associated with several significant rulings involving constitutional and administrative law issues.