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Informist, Wednesday, May 27, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The collegium of the Supreme Court at meetings held on Friday and Wednesday approved the appointment of five judges to the country's top court, days after President Droupadi Murmu promulgated an ordinance to increase the maximum sanctioned strength of the court to 38 judges from the current 34. The appointments involve four chief justices of different high courts and a senior advocate.

 

The names approved by the collegium for appointment to the top court are Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar of the Jharkhand High Court, Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Chief Justice Arun Palli of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, and senior advocate V. Mohana.

 

Sheel Nagu enrolled as an advocate in 1987 and practised on the civil and constitutional sides in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. He was appointed as an additional judge of the high court in 2011 and as a permanent judge in 2013. He was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the high court in 2024 and then took oath as chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court the same year.

 

Shree Chandrashekhar enrolled as an advocate in 1993 and started his practice at Delhi on the criminal and civil sides. In about 19 years of practice as an advocate in different courts, he conducted about 3,500 cases, mostly in the Supreme Court. He represented Bihar State Housing Board, Bihar State Pollution Control Board, Jharkhand State Electricity Board, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and various corporations. He was also the retained counsel for several private companies. He was appointed additional judge of the Jharkhand High Court in 2013 and as permanent judge of the same court in 2014. He became its chief justice in 2023.

 

Sanjeev Sachdeva enrolled as an advocate in 1988 and qualified as advocate-on-record of the Supreme Court in 1995. He was the standing counsel for the Bar Council of India for the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court for over 20 years. He was also appointed as senior panel lawyer for the Union of India and represented the government in various matters for over 10 years. He was elevated as additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2013 and as permanent judge in 2015. He was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2024.

 

Arun Palli got his law degree in 1988 and commenced legal practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He gained expertise across diverse areas of the law--civil, criminal, constitutional, revenue, industrial, and labour. He was appointed additional advocate general for Punjab in 2004, a position he held until 2007. He also appeared before the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court and argued several important matters in the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He was elevated to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2013 as a judge. He was appointed chief justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in 2025.

 

Senior Advocate Mohana practises at the Supreme Court of India and has been among the advocates involved in landmark litigation concerning permanent commission for women officers in the Indian Army. After working with Senior Advocate Indu Malhotra and others, she cleared the advocate-on-record examination in 1996 and began her independent practice. She was designated senior advocate by the Supreme Court in 2015. She has served as a mediator in the Supreme Court and been appointed amicus curiae in various civil and criminal matters. She was also a panel lawyer for the central government. She has served as honorary editor for the Supreme Court Reports.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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