The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of four sitting Chief Justices of High Courts and Senior Advocate V. Mohana as judges of the Apex Court.
The Apex Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and comprising Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice JK Maheshwari, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice MM Sundresh as its members, took the decision during two meetings held on May 22 and 27, 2026
The names recommended for appointment to the Supreme Court include Justice Sheel Nagu, presently Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court; Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh; and Senior Advocate V. Mohana.
Justice Nagu’s parent High Court is the Madhya Pradesh High Court, while Justice Chandrashekhar originally belongs to the Jharkhand High Court. Justice Sachdeva’s parent High Court is the Delhi High Court, and Justice Arun Palli’s parent High Court is the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The recommendation of Senior Advocate V. Mohana is significant as appointments from the Bar to the Supreme Court remain relatively infrequent under the constitutional scheme governing judicial appointments. Article 124 of the Constitution permits the appointment of distinguished jurists and senior advocates directly to the Supreme Court, though the majority of appointments traditionally come from the higher judiciary.
The recommendations come shortly after the sanctioned strength of the Apex Court was increased to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, through statutory enhancement of judicial strength. At present, the Supreme Court is functioning below its sanctioned capacity and is also expected to witness further vacancies due to the impending retirement of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Pankaj Mithal in June 2026.
Under the collegium system, recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium are forwarded to the Union Government for approval and issuance of warrants of appointment by the President of India after completion of the consultative and intelligence clearance process.
If cleared by the Union Government, the appointments would substantially increase the Apex Court’s working strength, subject to the retirements scheduled in the coming weeks.
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