The Central Government has approved the appointment of five new judges to the Supreme Court of India, significantly increasing the court’s working strength.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced that the President has cleared the appointments under Article 124(2) of the Constitution based on recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium.

The newly appointed judges are 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; Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh; and senior advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana.The recommendations for their elevation were made by the Collegium on May 27 under the leadership of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.These appointments represent the first major set of Supreme Court elevations during his tenure.

The development comes shortly after the Union Government increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026.With the addition of the five new judges, the Supreme Court’s effective strength will rise to 37, leaving only one vacancy.

The expansion is intended to help address the growing backlog of cases before the apex court and improve its capacity to hear matters, including through the formation of additional Constitution Benches.The appointments are also seen as reflecting considerations such as seniority, merit, regional representation and diversity within the judiciary.