Punjab Newsline | New Delhi

India's Chief Justice, Surya Kant, on Monday administered the oath of office to five newly appointed Supreme Court judges, taking the court's total strength to 37 judges. With the sanctioned strength recently increased to 38, only one position now remains vacant.

The newly sworn-in judges are senior advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana, former Bombay High Court Chief Justice Justice Shri Chandrashekhar, former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Justice Sheel Nagu, former Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, and former High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Chief Justice Justice Arun Palli.

The appointments were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium on May 27 and received government approval within four days. Last month, the government increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice, through an ordinance. With six vacancies existing after the expansion, the latest appointments have reduced the number of vacant positions to just one.

However, the court is expected to face fresh vacancies later this month as Justice Pankaj Mithal is scheduled to retire on June 16, followed by Justice J.K. Maheshwari on June 28.

A notable highlight of the appointments is the elevation of Justice Mohana. She becomes only the second woman advocate in India's history to be directly appointed to the Supreme Court from the Bar, following Justice Indu Malhotra in 2018. The 59-year-old jurist graduated from Coimbatore Law College in 1988 and was designated a senior advocate in 2015.

With her appointment, the Supreme Court now has two women judges — Justice Mohana and Justice B.V. Nagarathna. Justice Nagarathna is also expected to become India's first woman Chief Justice in 2027, albeit for a brief tenure of just over a month.