On Monday, June 1, 2026, the Central Government gave the green light to appoint five new judges to the Supreme Court of India. This is not just a rout
Centre Appoints Five New Supreme Court Judges in 2026: A Big Step for India's Justice System
What Just Happened?
On Monday, June 1, 2026, the Central Government gave the green light to appoint five new judges to the Supreme Court of India. This is not just a routine administrative move — it is a significant development that brings the total strength of the apex court to 37 judges, just one short of the newly revised full strength of 38. The appointments come after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended these names on May 27, 2026, and they were formally approved by the President of India under Article 124(2) of the Constitution.
This batch of appointments is particularly important because it is the first set of recommendations made under the leadership of Chief Justice Surya Kant, who took over as the Chief Justice of India in November 2025. It also follows a rare and swift move by the government just weeks earlier, when the President promulgated an ordinance on May 5, 2026, to increase the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges — a clear signal that the executive and judiciary are trying to work together to reduce the massive backlog of cases.
Who Are the Five New Judges?
Let us take a closer look at the five individuals who will now sit on the highest bench in the country:
- Justice Sheel Nagu — Currently serving as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Nagu has had a long and distinguished career. Born on January 1, 1965, he enrolled with the Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh in October 1987 and practiced civil and constitutional law before being elevated as an Additional Judge in May 2011. He became a Permanent Judge in May 2013 and later served as Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court before his current posting. His elevation to the Supreme Court comes about seven months before his scheduled retirement from the High Court in December 2026.
- Justice Shree Chandrashekhar — The Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Chandrashekhar was born on May 25, 1965, and originally hails from the Jharkhand High Court. What makes his appointment stand out is that the Supreme Court currently has no sitting judge from the Jharkhand High Court, so his elevation brings much-needed regional representation. He enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council in 1993 and has an impressive record of over 140 reported judgments in the Supreme Court where he appeared as counsel. He was recently part of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee that submitted its report in the Justice Yashwant Varma case.
- Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva — Serving as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Sachdeva was born on December 26, 1964, and is an alumnus of the prestigious Campus Law Centre at Delhi University. He enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council in 1988 and was appointed as an Additional Judge in 2013. His appointment continues a well-known trend of Supreme Court judges coming from the Delhi University law campus — a list that includes former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, former CJI Sanjiv Khanna, and several other sitting judges. Currently, Justice Manmohan is the only sitting Supreme Court judge from the Delhi High Court, so Justice Sachdeva’s arrival will double that representation.
- Justice Arun Palli — The Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice Palli was born on September 18, 1964, and comes from a family with deep roots in the legal profession — both his grandfather and father were practicing advocates in Patiala. He served as the Additional Advocate General for Punjab from 2004 to 2007 before being elevated as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2013. His appointment helps maintain the regional representation of Punjab and Haryana at three judges on the Supreme Court bench, especially after the retirement of Justice Rajesh Bindal in April 2026.
- Senior Advocate V. Mohana — Perhaps the most historic appointment of this batch, V. Mohana is being elevated directly from the Bar. She is only the second woman advocate in the history of the Supreme Court to be recommended directly from the Bar, following Justice Indu Malhotra who was appointed in 2018. It is also the first time since August 2021 that the Collegium has recommended a woman judge. Currently, Justice B.V. Nagarathna is the sole woman on the Supreme Court Bench, and she is also a member of the Collegium. This appointment is a significant step toward gender diversity in the highest judiciary.
Why Did the Government Increase the Court's Strength?
Before these appointments could happen, something important had to change — the size of the Supreme Court itself. On May 5, 2026, the Centre issued the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, raising the sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges. This was done through an ordinance, which means it was a temporary measure taken by the President when Parliament was not in session.
The official reasoning was straightforward: the government wants to ensure speedy justice and reduce the huge pile of pending cases. The Supreme Court currently handles thousands of cases every year, and with only 34 judges, the workload was becoming unmanageable. By adding four more seats, the court can function more efficiently and clear cases faster. The fact that this was done through an ordinance — rather than waiting for a parliamentary bill — shows the urgency the government attached to this issue.
How Does the Appointment Process Actually Work?
Many people wonder how judges get appointed to the Supreme Court. It is not a simple process, and it involves both the judiciary and the executive. Here is a simple breakdown:
- In this case, the Collegium recommended the five names on May 27, 2026, and the President approved them on June 1, 2026 — a remarkably quick turnaround that shows the government acted without delay. The Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, announced the appointments on social media platform X.
Why Are These Appointments So Important?
These five appointments matter for several reasons, and they touch on some of the biggest challenges facing the Indian judiciary today:
- Filling Vacancies Quickly — For years, one of the biggest problems in the Indian judicial system has been the delay in filling vacancies. High Courts across the country often function with 30 to 40 percent of their seats empty, and the Supreme Court has also faced shortages. When judges retire and their seats remain empty for months, the case backlog only grows. By moving quickly — from Collegium recommendation to presidential approval in just five days — this appointment process sets a positive example.
- Reducing Case Pendency — India has one of the highest numbers of pending cases in the world. At the Supreme Court level, thousands of cases are waiting for hearings. With 37 judges now on the bench instead of 32, the court can form more benches, hear more cases simultaneously, and deliver judgments faster. The ordinance increasing the court's strength was specifically justified on these grounds.
- Better Regional Representation — India's Supreme Court is meant to represent the entire country, but certain High Courts have historically been underrepresented. Justice Chandrashekhar's appointment from the Jharkhand High Court and Justice Palli's from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh help correct this imbalance. Regional diversity ensures that judges bring different perspectives and understand the local contexts of cases coming from various parts of India.
- Gender Diversity — The appointment of Senior Advocate V. Mohana is a landmark moment for gender representation. For too long, the Supreme Court has been a male-dominated institution. With only one woman judge currently serving, Mohana's arrival is a step toward making the highest court more inclusive. It also sends a powerful message to young women lawyers across the country that the path to the top is open to them.
- Experience from the Bar — Elevating a senior advocate directly to the Supreme Court is not common, but it brings valuable practical experience. Lawyers who have argued cases before the court for decades understand the ground realities of litigation, the challenges faced by ordinary citizens, and the practical impact of judicial decisions. Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice K.V. Viswanathan are the current sitting judges who were elevated directly from the Bar, and V. Mohana will join this select group.
What Happens Next?
With these five appointments, the Supreme Court now has 37 judges against a sanctioned strength of 38. However, the work is not done. Two sitting judges — Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Pankaj Mithal — are scheduled to retire in June 2026. This means that even with the new appointments, the court will soon face fresh vacancies.
The Collegium is expected to meet again in July 2026, after returning from its six-week Partial Working Days period, and recommend more names to fill these upcoming vacancies. The real test will be whether the government continues to act with the same speed and approves the next batch of recommendations as quickly as it did this one.
There is also the larger question of whether the sanctioned strength of 38 will be enough. Some legal experts argue that given India's population of 1.4 billion and the sheer volume of litigation, the Supreme Court may eventually need even more judges. The United States, with a much smaller population, has nine Supreme Court justices but also has a well-developed system of circuit courts. India's system is different, and the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for everything from constitutional matters to ordinary civil disputes.
The Bigger Picture: Executive-Judiciary Relations
These appointments also come at a time when the relationship between the government and the judiciary has been under scrutiny. The Collegium system — where judges essentially appoint judges — has been criticized by some for lacking transparency and accountability. In 2014, Parliament passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, which would have given the government and civil society members a role in judicial appointments. However, the Supreme Court struck it down in 2015, holding that it violated the basic structure of the Constitution, particularly the independence of the judiciary.
Since then, the Collegium system has remained in place, but it has not been without controversy. There have been instances where the government has sat on Collegium recommendations for months, leading to tension. The quick approval of these five names in June 2026 suggests a period of smoother cooperation, but whether this continues remains to be seen.
Final Thoughts
The appointment of five new judges to the Supreme Court in June 2026 is a welcome development for India's justice system. It fills critical vacancies, brings in diverse voices, and strengthens the court's ability to handle its massive workload. The inclusion of a woman advocate elevated directly from the Bar is a particularly encouraging sign of progress.
However, this is just one step in a much longer journey. The judiciary still faces enormous challenges — from infrastructure deficits in lower courts to the growing complexity of litigation, and from the need for technology integration to the ongoing debate about how judges should be selected. The government and the judiciary will need to keep working together to ensure that the promise of justice is not just written in the Constitution but delivered to every citizen in a timely manner.
For now, though, we can say that India's highest court has become stronger, more diverse, and better equipped to serve the people. And that is something worth celebrating.
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