The Supreme Court Collegium recommends four Supreme Court judges, a woman lawyer to the Supreme Court

The College’s selection of judges reflects a focus on regional and gender representation. | Photo credit: The Hindu

A Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, in consecutive meetings held on 22 and 27 May, recommended the appointment of four chief justices and one senior woman advocate as judges of the apex court.

The Collegia’s resolution was published late Wednesday (May 27).

The collegium proposed the name of Senior Advocate V. Mohan, an advocate practicing at the Supreme Court, as a judge of the Supreme Court. Ms Mohana has been one of the leading counsel in a number of cases highlighting structural inequalities in women’s careers in the armed forces.

Currently, the Supreme Court has only one female judge, Justice BV Nagarathna, who is also part of the Supreme Court collegium.

The Chief Justice recommended for the Supreme Court is Justice Sheel Nagu, 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; and Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

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A regional, gendered lens

The College’s selection of judges reflects a focus on regional and gender representation. Chief Justice Nagu is Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Chandrashekhar hails from the Jharkhand High Court, Justice Sachdeva’s parent High Court is Delhi and Justice Palli hails from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The last Supreme Court judge was appointed in August 2021. Ms. Mohana, if appointed, will be the first after a long gap of more than five years.

The recommendations come in the wake of the recent increase in the total number of judges, including the Chief Justice of India, to 38 from the earlier 32.

The bench would see more vacancies with the retirement of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Pankaj Mithal in June, even as the apex court’s caseload threatens to cross the six-figure mark.

Published – 27 May 2026 22:48 IST