New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of four High Court Chief Justices and one senior advocate to the Supreme Court. The recommendations include Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The Collegium has also proposed the elevation of Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, along with Senior Advocate V. Mohana.
The recommendation of Senior Advocate V. Mohana is particularly noteworthy, as she would become only the tenth person to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court. Her appointment is also expected to enhance gender diversity in the apex court, which currently has only one woman judge, Justice B.V. Nagarathna. If approved by the Union government, this would mark the first appointment of a woman judge to the Supreme Court since August 2021.
This significant round of appointments follows the recent expansion of the Supreme Court’s sanctioned strength. On May 16, 2026, President Droupadi Murmu promulgated the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, increasing the sanctioned strength of the Court from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. The move is aimed at reducing pendency of cases and facilitating the regular constitution of Benches.
The Collegium’s recommendations have now been forwarded to the Union government for approval and the subsequent issuance of warrants of appointment by the President of India.
