New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Tuesday administered the oath of office to five new Supreme Court judges — Justices Sheel Nagu, Sree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Palli, and V S Mohana. This takes the working strength of the Supreme Court judges to a record 37, with one vacancy remaining.
Swift Appointment Process
The entire process — from the recommendation of names by the five-member collegium headed by the CJI, to the government's vetting and the issuance of warrants of appointment by the President — was completed within a week. The collegium recommended the names on May 27, warrants of appointment were issued on June 1 after government clearance, and the new judges took oath on Tuesday.
Profiles of the New Judges
Justice Sheel Nagu became a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in May 2011 and was appointed Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 9, 2024. As a Supreme Court judge, he will have a tenure of about three and a half years. Justice Nagu was part of the in-house committee panel that inquired into the discovery of partially burnt notes from the residence of then Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma in March last year.
Justice Sree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, became a judge of his parent High Court in Jharkhand in January 2013. He will have a tenure of less than four years in the Supreme Court. He was part of the Lok Sabha Speaker-appointed committee that inquired into the alleged misconduct of Justice Varma.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, became a judge of the Delhi High Court in April 2013. He will serve a tenure of three and a half years as a Supreme Court judge.
Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, was appointed a judge in his parent Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2013. He will have a tenure of three years and four months as a Supreme Court judge.
Justice V S Mohana is a first-generation lawyer who became an advocate on record in 1996. She was designated as a senior advocate in April 2015 and will have a tenure of five years in the Supreme Court.
Historical Context
The Supreme Court began its journey on January 26, 1950, with eight judges, including Chief Justice Harilal Jekisondas Kania. The latest increase in strength from 34 to 38 happened last month. However, this increase is modest compared to CJI Surya Kant's assessment that the Supreme Court needs at least 10 more judges to handle its workload effectively.
