CJI administers oath to five new Supreme Court judges; court reaches highest-ever strength of 37
CJI Surya Kant administered the oath to five new Supreme Court judges on June 2. Their induction takes the court to a record working strength of 37 and includes V Mohana's significant elevation from the Bar.
- Jun 02, 2026,
- Updated Jun 02, 2026, 1:35 PM IST
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on June 2, administered the oath of office to five new judges of the Supreme Court, taking the strength of the apex court to 37 judges, the highest in its history and one short of the newly enhanced sanctioned strength of 38.
The swearing-in ceremony was held on the premises of the Supreme Court, where Justices Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Palli and V Mohana took oath as judges of the apex court.
The Centre had cleared their appointments on Monday following recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium on May 27. The appointments came just four days after the recommendations were made.
With the induction of the five judges, the Supreme Court's working strength has risen to 37, close to the upgraded sanctioned strength of 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. The increase follows an ordinance promulgated by the Centre last month amending the law governing the court's sanctioned strength, raising it from 34 to 38.
Justice V Mohana's elevation is particularly significant as she becomes only the second woman in the country to be directly elevated to the Supreme Court from the Bar after Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018. She joins Justice B V Nagarathna as one of the two serving women judges in the apex court.
Justice Nagarathna, who joined the Supreme Court in August 2021, is next in line to become the Chief Justice of India and is expected to serve as the country's first woman CJI in 2027.
The newly appointed judges bring with them extensive judicial and legal experience. Justice Nagu was serving as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Chandrashekhar as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Sachdeva as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and Justice Palli as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. Justice Mohana was a senior advocate before her elevation.
The appointments come ahead of the retirement of two sitting Supreme Court judges — Justice Pankaj Mithal on June 16 and Justice JK Maheshwari on June 28.