Supreme Court Strength Rises to 37 After Five New Judges Take Oath

The Supreme Court of India has expanded its working strength from 32 to 37 after five newly appointed judges took oath of office on Tuesday. The oath was administered by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

The new judges are Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Arun Palli and V Mohana. While Justices Nagu, Chandrashekhar, Sachdeva and Palli were serving as Chief Justices of different High Courts before their elevation, V Mohana was directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court.

The appointments come shortly after the Central government increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges through an ordinance. With the five new appointments, the Court is now operating with 37 judges, leaving only one vacancy against its newly approved strength.

The recommendation to elevate the five judges was made last week by the Supreme Court Collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant. The Central government approved the recommendations on June 1, following which the oath-taking ceremony was held at the Supreme Court.

The increase in judicial strength is expected to support the Court in handling its growing workload and reducing the pendency of cases.