Five newly appointed Supreme Court judges took oath on Tuesday before Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, taking the Court closer to its full sanctioned strength of 38 judges and strengthening the country’s highest judicial institution.
Five recently appointed Supreme Court judges took their oath of office on Tuesday, bringing the Court nearer to its sanctioned strength of 38 judges.
Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant administered the oath to Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Justice Arun Palli, and Senior Advocate V. Mohana during a ceremony at the Supreme Court.
Earlier, yesterday, The Central Government had notified these appointments based on recommendations from the Supreme Court Collegium, made at its meetings held on May 22 and May 27.
On 27 May, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the appointment of five judges to the Supreme Court. The decision came soon after the Union Cabinet approved a Bill to raise the Court’s sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges.
At that time, the Court already had two vacancies. This situation was followed by President Droupadi Murmu’s promulgation of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026.
The speed of this step was described as unusual, since it represented a rare instance of the President issuing an ordinance specifically to increase the number of sitting judges. An official notification stated that the expansion was intended to help ensure faster delivery of justice and to reduce pendency in the Supreme Court.
The Court’s strength would rise to 37 judges, leaving only one vacancy remaining under the revised sanctioned limit. With two retirements scheduled for June 2026, the Collegium is expected to recommend further appointments in July, after it resumes its work from its 6-week-long Partial Working Days period.
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The newly appointed judges are Senior Advocate V Mohana, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, and Justice Arun Palli.
Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
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.
Justice Sheel Nagu
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
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
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.
Senior Advocate V. Mohana
The Supreme Court Collegium turned to the Bar to recommend Mohana. This marks only the second time in the Supreme Court’s history that a woman advocate has been recommended directly from the Barfollowing the appointment of Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018. It is also the first occasion since August 2021 when the Collegium recommended a woman judge.
Currently, Justice Nagarathna is the only woman on the bench and is also a member of the Supreme Court Collegium. At present, there are two judges who were elevated directly from the Bar: Justices P.S. Narasimha and K.V. Viswanathan.