The Centre on Monday notified the appointment of five new judges to the Supreme Court, including four sitting High Court Chief Justices and senior advocate V. Mohana. The move comes days after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended their elevation to the apex court.
The newly appointed judges are Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Justice Arun Palli and senior advocate V. Mohana. The appointments were announced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The recommendations were made during Supreme Court Collegium meetings held on May 22 and May 27 under the leadership of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The appointment of V. Mohana is being viewed as particularly significant as it will improve women's representation in the apex court. At present, the Supreme Court has only one sitting woman judge, Justice B. V. Nagarathna. No woman judge has been appointed to the Supreme Court since August 2021.
Recently, the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court was increased from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. The court currently has 32 sitting judges, while two more vacancies are expected to arise this month following the retirement of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Pankaj Mithal. The latest appointments are expected to strengthen the apex court's capacity and help address pending cases.
The appointments mark one of the first major sets of judicial elevations approved after the expansion of the Supreme Court's sanctioned strength and are aimed at improving the efficiency of the country's highest judicial institution.
