Five judges sworn in, India’s Supreme Court reaches 37

Five new judges were sworn into the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, bringing the court’s working strength to 37 judges, the highest in its history and just one short of its newly expanded sanctioned capacity. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant administered the oath of office to the appointees in a ceremony at the Supreme Court in New Delhi.

The newly appointed judges are Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Justice Arun Palli, and senior advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana. Their appointments were formally notified by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice on Monday, June 1, following recommendations from the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice Kant on May 27.

This expansion follows a recent ordinance promulgated by the central government increasing the Supreme Court’s sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges, a move aimed at addressing a mounting backlog of cases, which exceeds 93,000, and facilitating the regular convening of Constitution Benches. The swift approval process, from Collegium recommendation to government clearance and swearing-in, has been noted within legal circles as evidence of institutional...