The Supreme Court on Tuesday welcomed five new judges to its Bench as Chief Justice of India Surya Kant administered the oath of office to Justices Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Palli and Senior Advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana at a ceremonial swearing-in held at the Supreme Court premises. Their induction comes a day after the Centre notified their appointments, taking the Court closer to its enhanced sanctioned strength of 38 judges.

Justice Sheel Nagu
Justice Sheel Nagu was serving as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court prior to his elevation. His parent High Court is the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where he practised on the civil and constitutional side before being elevated to the Bench. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2011 and became a permanent judge in 2013. He later served as Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court before being appointed Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2024.

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
Justice Shree Chandrashekhar was serving as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court before his elevation to the Supreme Court. Born in Ranchi, he completed his legal education at the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, and enrolled as an advocate in 1993. After nearly two decades of practice, he was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court in 2013 and became a permanent judge in 2014. He subsequently served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court, and was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in 2025.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva was serving as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. A graduate of Delhi University, he enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1988 and practised before the district courts, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. He served as Standing Counsel for the Bar Council of India and as Senior Panel Counsel for the Union Government before being designated as a Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in 2011. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in April 2013 and later became a permanent judge.

Justice Arun Palli
Justice Arun Palli was serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh prior to his elevation. His parent High Court is the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where he built a distinguished judicial career before being appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. His elevation ensures continued representation from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the Supreme Court.

Justice Venkita Subramani Mohana
Senior Advocate (now a judge) Venkita Subramani Mohana has been elevated directly from the Bar, making her one of the very few advocates to be appointed directly as a judge of the Supreme Court. A Senior Advocate designated in 2015, she has practised before the Supreme Court for nearly four decades and has appeared in several significant constitutional, civil and criminal matters. She has also served as amicus curiae in important cases, including matters concerning permanent commission for women officers in the Indian Army. Her appointment adds a much-needed woman judge to the apex court and is being viewed as a significant step towards greater gender representation in the higher judiciary.

With the induction of the five judges, the Supreme Court moves closer to its recently enhanced sanctioned strength.