The Supreme Court on Tuesday reached a historic milestone as Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant administered the oath of office to five new judges, taking the apex court’s working strength to 37—the highest in its history.
The newly inducted judges are Justices Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Palli and V. Mohana. The swearing-in ceremony was held on the premises of the Supreme Court.
With the appointments, the court is now just one judge short of its revised sanctioned strength of 38, including the Chief Justice of India. The Centre had approved the appointments on Monday, following recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium on May 27.
The newly appointed judges include Justice Sheel Nagu, former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, former Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court; Justice Arun Palli, former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court; and senior advocate V. Mohana.
Last month, the Union government promulgated an ordinance increasing the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges, including the CJI. However, the court’s strength is expected to reduce slightly later this month, with Justices Pankaj Mithal and J.K. Maheshwari scheduled to retire on June 16 and June 28, respectively.
Justice V. Mohana’s elevation is particularly significant as she becomes only the second woman in India’s judicial history to be directly elevated to the Supreme Court from the Bar, after Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018. She joins Justice B.V. Nagarathna as one of the two serving women judges in the apex court.
Justice Nagarathna is also in line to become India’s first woman Chief Justice of India and is expected to hold the office briefly in 2027.
Justice Sheel Nagu, born on January 1, 1965, enrolled as an advocate in 1987 and served as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court before becoming Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2024. He was also part of the Supreme Court-appointed in-house committee that examined allegations related to the discovery of burnt cash at the residence of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.
Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, born on May 25, 1965, began his legal career after graduating from Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre. He served as a judge of the Jharkhand High Court before becoming Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in September 2025. He was also a member of the committee constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to examine grounds for Justice Varma’s removal.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, born on December 26, 1964, practised law in Delhi before being elevated to the Delhi High Court in 2013. He later became Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2025.
Justice Arun Palli, born on September 18, 1964, was designated a senior advocate in 2007 and served as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court before being appointed Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court in April 2025.
Justice V. Mohana, 59, graduated from Coimbatore Law College in 1988 and was designated a senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 2015. Her elevation marks another significant step toward greater representation of women in the higher judiciary.
The appointments strengthen the Supreme Court at a time when it continues to handle a growing caseload and significant constitutional matters.
