CJI Surya Kant administers oath to five new Supreme Court judges; strength rises to 37

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Tuesday, June 2, administered the oath of office to five new judges of the Supreme Court. This takes the total strength of judges at the top court to 37 – the highest ever.

Justices Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva and Arun Palli, along with senior advocate V Mohana took oath as judges of the Supreme Court. This comes after the central government cleared their appointments on the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium.

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While acting on the Collegium’s recommendations from its meetings held last month, the Centre on Monday had approved the elevation of the four High Court Chief Justices as well as senior advocate Mohana to the apex court.

Taking to X, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal earlier announced that the President, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, had appointed them as judges in exercise of the power conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India.

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:- pic.twitter.com/WxHaRYWF6p

— Arjun Ram Meghwal (@arjunrammeghwal) June 1, 2026

“The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meetings held on 22nd & 27th May, 2026, has recommended elevation of the following persons as Judges in the Supreme Court,” the Collegium had said in a statement uploaded on apex court’s website.

Justice Nagu was appointed as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in May 2011 and later took over as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2024. In January 2013, Justice Chandrashekhar was elevated as a judge of the Jharkhand High Court and later became the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in January 2025, IANS reported.

Meanwhile, Justice Sachdeva served as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court since April 2013 and later became a permanent judge in March 2015. Thereafter, he was announced as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in July 2025.

Justice Palli got elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2013. In April last year, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

Senior Advocate Mohana has been practising before the Supreme Court.

President Droupadi Murmu had earlier promulgated the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026. With this, the sanctioned strength of judges in the apex court was increased from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India.