Five new judges in Supreme Court: CJI Surya Kant administered oath, for the first time the number of judges increased to 37.

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Dayashankar Tripathi

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant today administered the oath to five new judges. After these appointments, the total number of judges in the Supreme Court increased to 37. Now out of 38 sanctioned posts in the court, only one post remains vacant.

The new judges include senior lawyer Venkita Subramani Mohana, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Justice Shri Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Justice Arun Palli. The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended these names on May 27, to which the government gave the green signal in just four days.

Last month, the government had increased the approved number of judges in the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 through an ordinance. This also includes the post of Chief Justice. Including the increase in numbers and the already vacant posts, a total of six posts were vacant. After five new appointments, now only one post is vacant. However, two judges are going to retire in the month of June. Justice Pankaj Mithal will retire on June 16 and Justice JK Maheshwari on June 28.

The appointment of senior lawyer Venkita Subramani Mohana is very important. She is the second woman lawyer in the country after Justice Indu Malhotra (2018) who has been made a Supreme Court judge directly from the bar. Mohana, 59, had completed her studies from Coimbatore Law College in 1988. In the year 2015, he got the status of senior lawyer. Now there are two women judges in the Supreme Court – Justice Mohana and Justice BV Nagarathna. Justice Nagarathna will also become the Chief Justice of India for more than a month in the year 2027.