Journalism of Courage
Supreme Court gets 5 new judges, strength increases to 37
The elevation of Senior Advocate V S Mohana to the Supreme Court bench takes the number of women judges of the court to two. Before this, the court had one woman judge, Justice B V Nagarathna.
In March, CJI Surya Kant had recommended to the government that the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges be increased from 34 to 38 so that a permanent constitution bench could be put in place to hear pending matters. (File Photo)
Four former High Court Chief Justices and a senior advocate were sworn in as Supreme Court judges on Tuesday.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant administered the oath of office to former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Shree Chandrashekhar, former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court Sanjeev Sachdeva, former Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Arun Palli, and Senior Advocate V S Mohana at a ceremony.
With this, the Supreme Court now has a working strength of 37 judges against a sanctioned strength of 38.
The elevation of senior advocate Mohana to the bench takes the number of women judges of the court to two. Before this, the court had one woman judge, Justice B V Nagarathna, who is due to be Chief Justice of India in September 2027.
The Supreme Court collegium, headed by CJI Kant, had decided to recommend five names for elevation in meetings held on May 22 and 27.
More vacancies will arise in the top court this year, with at least four judges expected to retire.
Sanctioned strength of SC judges increased
In March this year, CJI Kant had recommended to the government that the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges be increased from the present 34 to 38 so that a permanent constitution bench could be put in place to hear pending matters.
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The government accepted the suggestion, and on May 5, it approved the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which sought to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the strength of the court by four.
The last time the strength of the court was increased was in 2019, when an amendment raised it from 30 to 33, excluding the CJI. Originally, the Act had provided for a maximum of 10 judges, excluding the CJI, which was increased to 13 in 1960 and then 17 in 1977.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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