Five New Judges Sworn Into Supreme Court, Strength Rises To 37

Five newly appointed judges took oath as judges of the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, bringing the Court closer to its full sanctioned strength. Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant administered the oath of office to Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Justice Arun Palli and Senior Advocate V. Mohana during a ceremony held at the Supreme Court.

The appointments were formally notified by the Central Government a day earlier. They followed recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium during its meetings held in May. The swearing-in marks one of the largest batches of appointments to the apex court in recent years and comes at a time when the Court is expanding its judicial strength.

Among the new appointees are four serving Chief Justices of High Courts. Justice Sheel Nagu was serving as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Shree Chandrashekhar was the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, while Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva was heading the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Justice Arun Palli was serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh before his elevation.

The fifth appointee, Senior Advocate V. Mohana, has been elevated directly from the Bar to the Supreme Court. Direct appointments from the Bar to the apex court are relatively uncommon, making her elevation a notable development. She has practised extensively before the Supreme Court and is among the few advocates in recent years to be appointed directly to the Court.

The appointments also improve gender representation on the Supreme Court Bench. Prior to V. Mohana’s appointment, Justice B. V. Nagarathna was the only woman judge serving in the Court. The latest elevation increases the number of women judges and comes after a gap of several years since the last appointment of a woman judge to the apex court.

The development assumes added significance because the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court was recently increased from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. Before the oath ceremony, the Court was functioning with 32 judges. With the addition of five new judges, the working strength has now risen to 37.

The Supreme Court is therefore operating much closer to its approved capacity, which is expected to help in handling its growing caseload. However, the Court may soon face fresh vacancies as Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Pankaj Mithal are scheduled to retire later this month. Even so, the latest appointments represent an important step towards ensuring adequate judicial strength at the country’s highest court.