The Union government on Monday notified the appointment of four Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and Senior Advocate V. Mohana as judges of the Supreme Court, four days after the Supreme Court Bench recommended their elevation, paving the way for one of the most significant rounds of appointments to the Supreme Court in recent years after expanding its bench power.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments through a post on X.
“In exercise of the power conferred by Clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, has pleased to appoint the following as Judges of the Supreme Court of India. I convey my best wishes to them,” Meghwal’s circular said.
The appointments notified by the Center are of Justices Shail Nagu, Shri Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Bali and Senior Advocate Mohana.
The names were recommended on May 27 by a Supreme Court panel led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The five appointees are expected to be sworn in as Supreme Court justices on Tuesday.
These appointments come days after the Union government formally increased the scheduled strength of the Supreme Court from 33 to 37 judges, excluding the ICJ, through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026. The May 16 move was aimed at addressing the growing pendency, which has crossed 92,000 cases, and facilitate regular constitutional courts.
The latest appointments would bring the strength of the Supreme Court to 36 judges, excluding the International Court of Justice, with one position remaining vacant.
With these appointments, the bench, which also includes Justices Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari, PV Nagaratna and MM Sundresh, sought to strike a balance between regional representation, judicial seniority, merit and gender diversity in the composition of the Supreme Court.
Among the newly appointed judges, Justice Shail Nagu currently heads the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Originally from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, he was elevated to the position of judge there in 2011 before being appointed Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2024. He is known for his work on matters relating to constitutional, service and administrative law.
Justice Shri Chandrashekhar, who served as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, began his judicial career in the Jharkhand High Court and was elevated to the post of Judge there in 2013. He took charge as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court last year after serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who was originally a judge of the Delhi High Court and was recently appointed Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, handled several important matters of constitutional, commercial and criminal law during his tenure on the bench. Before his elevation to the position of judge in 2013, he had an extensive practice in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
Justice Arun Bali, who currently presides over the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, began his practice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1988 and was appointed senior advocate in 2007. Elevated to the post of judge in 2013, he dealt with constitutional, labour, civil and criminal matters before being appointed chief justice last year.
The appointment of senior advocate V Mohana is particularly significant as it will add another woman judge to the Supreme Court, which currently has only one woman judge – Justice PV Nagarathna.
A senior member of the Supreme Court Bar, Mohana graduated from the Coimbatore Law College in 1988 as part of the institution’s first five-year law course. She initially trained under Advocate M Panchabhakisan before moving to New Delhi, where she worked with former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra and Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan.
After passing the Registered Advocate Examination in 1996, Mohana commenced independent practice in the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and other forums including the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Over the years, she has appeared alongside several prominent legal figures including Kapil Sibal, KK Venugopal, P Chidambaram, Arun Jaitley and TR Andhyarujina. She was appointed as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of the Full Bench in April 2015 and has also served as Advocate for the Government of the Union.
Her elevation is also notable as she will become the second woman lawyer to be elevated directly from the Bar to the Supreme Court after Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018.
The current round of appointments comes at a critical juncture for the Supreme Court, which is not only adjusting to its expanded power but also facing a series of impending retirements.
Justice Pankaj Mithal is scheduled to retire on June 6, followed by Justice JK Maheshwari on June 28, Justice Sanjay Karol on August 28, and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma on November 29. The appointments are expected to stabilize the court’s workforce during the tenure of CJI Surya Kant, who leaves office in February 2027.
