In a significant development for the higher judiciary, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of five eminent legal professionals to the Supreme Court, including four sitting Chief Justices of High Courts and a senior advocate directly from the Bar. The move assumes importance at a time when the apex court is functioning below its sanctioned strength and concerns continue to be raised over judicial vacancies and representation of women on the Bench.
The recommendations were finalised during Collegium meetings held on May 22 and May 27. The names proposed for appointment are Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Justice Arun Palli, and Senior Advocate V. Mohana.
Justice Sheel Nagu is presently serving as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and originally belongs to the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He was also part of the in-house committee constituted to examine the controversy surrounding alleged cash recovery linked to Justice Yashwant Varma.
Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, currently the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, traces his judicial career to the Jharkhand High Court. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who is heading the Madhya Pradesh High Court as Chief Justice, comes from the Delhi High Court. Justice Arun Palli is presently serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and belongs to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Senior Advocate V. Mohana practises before the Supreme Court and has appeared in several significant constitutional and service law matters. She was among the counsel involved in the landmark litigation concerning the grant of permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army.
If cleared by the Central Government, V. Mohana will become only the tenth advocate in the history of the Supreme Court to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Bench. She would also be the second woman to achieve the distinction after former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra.
The recommendation is expected to strengthen women’s representation in the apex court, which currently has only one sitting woman judge, Justice B. V. Nagarathna. Notably, no woman judge has been appointed to the Supreme Court since August 2021.
The Collegium’s decision also comes shortly after the Union Government increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. Despite the expansion, the Court is presently functioning with 32 judges, while further vacancies are expected due to the upcoming retirements of Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Pankaj Mithal in June.
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