Centre notifies appointment of five Supreme Court judges

The Union government has officially notified the appointment of five new judges to India's Supreme Court, a significant move following the apex court collegium's recommendations just four days prior. This elevation marks one of the most substantial appointment rounds in recent years, particularly after the sanctioned strength of the court was expanded.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments via a post on X, stating, "In exercise of the power conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following as Judges of the Supreme Court of India. I convey my best wishes to them."

The newly appointed judges are justices Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Palli, and senior advocate V Mohana. Their appointments were recommended on May 27 by the Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The five are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday.

These appointments follow the recent increase in the Supreme Court's sanctioned strength from 33 to 37 judges (excluding the Chief Justice) through an ordinance. This expansion aims to tackle the mounting pendency of cases, which has surpassed 92,000, and to facilitate the regular formation of benches. With these additions, the Supreme Court will have 36 judges, with only one position remaining vacant.

The collegium reportedly considered regional representation, judicial seniority, merit, and gender diversity in its recommendations. Among the appointees, Justice Sheel Nagu currently heads the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar is the chief justice of the Bombay High Court, and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva was recently appointed chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Justice Arun Palli also holds a significant judicial position.

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In exercise of the power conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following as Judges of the Supreme Court of India. I convey my best wishes to them.