Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday administered the oath of office to five new judges, bringing the working strength of the Supreme Court to 37 against a newly expanded sanctioned strength of 38.
The brief swearing-in ceremony, attended by sitting judges, lawyers, registry staff, and family members, follows a swift approval process by the Union Government after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the names on May 27.
The five newly inducted judges are, Justice Sheel Nagu (formerly Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), Justice Shree Chandrashekhar (formerly Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court), Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva (formerly Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court), Justice Arun Palli (formerly Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court) and Senior Advocate V. Mohana (directly elevated from the Bar).
The courtroom erupted into applause for nearly a minute when Justice Mohana took her oath. Her elevation marks a significant milestone in the apex court’s history.
Justice Mohana becomes only the second woman to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court, following Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018. Furthermore, Justice Mohana is the first woman appointed to the top court since August 2021, and her induction doubles the number of sitting women judges on the Bench to two, joining Justice B.V. Nagarathna. She stands as the 12th woman judge in the history of the Supreme Court.
The inductions come on the heels of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, which was promulgated by President Droupadi Murmu on May 16 following a Union Cabinet decision. The ordinance increased the court’s sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges (including the CJI) to address a mounting backlog of over 93,000 cases and to ensure the regular convening of Constitution Benches. With these appointments, only one vacancy remains.
The expanded bench comes at a crucial juncture as the apex court prepares for a wave of retirements later this year. Four judges are scheduled to demit office in the coming months: Justice Pankaj Mithal (June 6), Justice J.K. Maheshwari (June 28), Justice Sanjay Karol (August 28), and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma (November 29). The new inductions will help stabilize the court’s operational capacity through the remainder of CJI Kant’s tenure, which concludes in February 2027.
Profiles of the Newly Appointed Judges
- Justice Sheel Nagu: Born January 1, 1965, he enrolled as an advocate in 1987. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2011, became a permanent judge in 2013, and later served as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
- Justice Shree Chandrashekhar: Born May 25, 1965, he graduated from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, and enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council in 1993. He was elevated to the Jharkhand High Court in 2013, became permanent in 2014, and recently served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.
- Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva: Born December 26, 1964, he is an alumnus of the Sri Ram College of Commerce and Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. Appointed to the Delhi High Court in 2013, he became a permanent judge in 2015 before serving as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
- Justice Arun Palli: Born September 18, 1964, in Patiala, he earned his law degree from Panjab University in 1988. He was appointed a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2013 and recently led the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
- Justice V. Mohana: Born June 27, 1966, she graduated from Coimbatore Law College, Tamil Nadu, in 1988. She qualified as an advocate-on-record at the Supreme Court in 1996 and was designated a Senior Advocate by the apex court in 2015.
