The Central Government has approved the appointment of five new judges to the Supreme Court of India, including four sitting High Court Chief Justices and Senior Advocate V. Mohana. The appointments were announced by Arjun Ram Meghwal through a post on X.

The newly appointed judges are:

• Justice Sheel Nagu
• Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
• Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva
• Justice Arun Palli
• V. Mohana

The appointments come shortly after the Centre increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges through an ordinance. With these five appointments, 37 positions in the apex court now stand filled.

Justice Sheel Nagu

Before his elevation, Justice Sheel Nagu served as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, with his parent High Court being the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Born on January 1, 1965, he enrolled as an advocate in 1987 and practised mainly in civil, constitutional and service law matters. He became an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2011 and a permanent judge in 2013.

Justice Nagu later served as Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court before taking oath as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2024. He is known for judgments concerning environmental protection, privacy and personal liberty. He was also a member of the in-house inquiry committee that examined allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma. He will retire on December 31, 2029.

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar has been serving as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. His parent High Court is the Jharkhand High Court.

Born in Ranchi on May 25, 1965, he studied law at the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, and enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council in 1993. After nearly two decades of practice, he was elevated to the Jharkhand High Court in 2013.

He later served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court, and became Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in September 2025.

Justice Chandrashekhar has handled several high-profile matters, including cases relating to the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case, the Malegaon blasts case, and the Versova–Bhayandar coastal road project. He will retire on May 24, 2030.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva has been serving as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. His parent High Court is the Delhi High Court.

Born on December 26, 1964, he graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce and the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. He became an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court in 1995 and was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in 2011.

He was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2013 and became a permanent judge in 2015. After his transfer to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2024, he took oath as Chief Justice in July 2025.

Justice Sachdeva also served as standing counsel for the Bar Council of India for more than two decades. He is expected to have a tenure of around three-and-a-half years in the Supreme Court.

Justice Arun Palli

Justice Arun Palli has been serving as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. His parent High Court is the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Born in Patiala on September 18, 1964, he graduated in law from Panjab University in 1988. He practised extensively before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and served as Additional Advocate General for Punjab between 2004 and 2007.

He was designated a Senior Advocate in 2007 and elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2013. He became Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court in April 2025.

Justice Palli also served as Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority and played a significant role in mediation and Lok Adalat initiatives. He is expected to serve for a little over three years in the Supreme Court.

Senior Advocate V. Mohana

The appointment of V. Mohana is historically significant. She becomes only the second woman in India's history to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court after Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018.

With her appointment, she joins Justice B. V. Nagarathna as one of only two women judges currently serving on the Supreme Court. She will also become the 12th woman judge in the Court's history.

Born on June 27, 1966, in Coimbatore, Mohana graduated from Coimbatore Law College in 1988. She trained under Senior Advocate C. S. Vaidyanathan, became an Advocate-on-Record in 1996 and was designated a Senior Advocate in 2015.

She worked alongside sitting Supreme Court judge Justice K. V. Viswanathan in the office of former Attorney General K. K. Venugopal.

Mohana has appeared in several landmark cases involving permanent commission for women officers in the armed forces, senior citizens' property rights and the Karnataka hijab litigation. Owing to her direct elevation from the Bar, she is expected to have a comparatively long tenure and will retire in June 2031.

Also Read:-

From a Small Classroom in Coimbatore to the Supreme Court: The Inspiring Journey of V. Mohana

Why These Appointments Matter

• The Supreme Court's sanctioned strength has recently increased to 38 judges.
• Five new appointments substantially reduce vacancies in the apex court.
• V. Mohana's elevation improves gender representation in the Supreme Court.
• Justice Chandrashekhar's appointment restores representation from Jharkhand in the Supreme Court.
• The appointments reflect a mix of judicial experience from different High Courts and direct Bar representation.