Centre clears five new judges for SC; strength rises to 37

Supreme Court: Five New Judges Appointed — Strength Rises to 37

1. At a Glance

• The Supreme Court of India had its sanctioned judge strength raised from 34 to 38 (including CJI) via the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated under Article 123 of the Constitution. [S1]
• Five new judges were appointed on June 2, 2026, taking operational strength to 37, just one short of the new sanctioned cap of 38. [S4]
• This is a critical GS-II (Polity) topic: it touches judicial appointments (Article 124), the Collegium system, pendency crisis, gender representation on the bench, and the Centre–judiciary relationship. [S2][S3]
• The appointment of V. Mohana as a direct (Bar) appointment is significant — she becomes only the second woman currently sitting on the Supreme Court. [S4]

2. Why in the News

• May 5, 2026: Union Cabinet approved a proposal to increase Supreme Court strength from 34 to 38. [S1]
• May 16, 2026 (approx.): President Droupadi Murmu promulgated the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, amending Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. [S1]
• May 27, 2026: Supreme Court Collegium recommended five names for appointment. [S4]
• June 2, 2026 (Tuesday): President approved the appointments under Article 124(2); MoS Law Arjun Ram Meghwal announced via post on X. Strength rose to 37. [S4]

3. Background & Evolution

• The Collegium system emerged from three landmark SC judgments — the Three Judges Cases (1981, 1993, 1998) — replacing executive primacy in appointments with judicial primacy. [S3]
• An attempt to replace the Collegium with the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) via the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014 was struck down by the SC in Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (2015) as violating judicial independence (basic structure). [S3]

4. Core Static Facts

Constitutional / Statutory Basis - Article 124(1): Establishes the Supreme Court; fixes sanctioned strength as "Chief Justice + such other judges as Parliament may by law prescribe." - Article 124(2): Appointments by the President after consultation with SC judges (and HC judges as President deems fit); for non-CJI appointments, CJI must always be consulted. [S2][S3] - Article 123: Presidential power to promulgate Ordinances when Parliament is not in session — used here to raise judge strength. [S1] - Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956: Primary enabling statute; Section 2 amended by the 2026 Ordinance. [S1]

Key Numbers (post-June 2026) | Parameter | Figure | |---|---| | Revised sanctioned strength | 38 (CJI + 37 other judges) | | Operational strength (June 2, 2026) | 37 | | Previous sanctioned strength | 34 | | Newly appointed judges (June 2, 2026) | 5 | | Women judges on SC bench (post-appointment) | 2 (Justice B.V. Nagarathna + V. Mohana) | | Only woman in SC Collegium | Justice B.V. Nagarathna |

Five Newly Appointed Judges | Name | Previous Position | |---|---| | Justice Sheel Nagu | Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana HC | | Justice Shree Chandrashekhar | Chief Justice, Bombay HC | | Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva | Chief Justice, Madhya Pradesh HC | | Justice Arun Palli | Chief Justice, High Court of J&K and Ladakh | | V. Mohana | Senior Advocate (Bar appointment — direct from the Bar) |

Implementing Ministry: Ministry of Law and Justice [S4]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Legal / Constitutional

• Appointments under Article 124(2) require presidential action on Collegium recommendation; the executive has no veto power post-NJAC judgment (2015). [S3]
• The Ordinance route (Article 123) used to raise strength indicates Parliament was not in session — an Ordinance must be tabled before Parliament within 6 weeks of reassembly or it lapses. [S1]
• Bar appointments (like V. Mohana) are rare but constitutionally permissible under Article 124(3)(b) — a person must be a "distinguished jurist" or an advocate of an HC for at least 10 years. [S3][S4]

Social / Gender

• Post-appointment, only 2 of 37 SC judges are women (~5.4%) — far below any proportional representation benchmark. [S4]
• V. Mohana notably argued cases on structural career inequalities for women officers in the armed forces, bringing gender-equity jurisprudence expertise directly to the bench. [S4]
• Justice B.V. Nagarathna remains the only woman in the five-member SC Collegium; she is also the first woman poised to become CJI (expected 2027). [S4]

Administrative / Governance

• Primary driver of strength increase: mounting judicial pendency — the Supreme Court has millions of cases pending; additional judges directly expand bench-sitting capacity. [S1]
• Four new judicial posts created; each requires supporting infrastructure (court rooms, staff, housing). [S1]
• Collegium's May 27, 2026 recommendation → Presidential approval June 2, 2026: turnaround of ~6 days, indicating improved Centre–judiciary coordination. [S4]

Historical / Precedent

• Previous increases in SC strength (2009: 31; 2019: 34; 2026: 38) follow a pattern linked to caseload growth. [S1]
• NJAC episode (2014–15) remains the defining recent tension in Centre–judiciary relations; collegium system continues with no statutory overhaul. [S3]

Ethical / Governance

• Centre's acceptance of all five Collegium-recommended names within days contrasts with historical episodes of Centre "sitting on" Collegium names for months or years. [S4]
• Transparency concerns persist: Collegium resolutions are published on the SC website but deliberations remain opaque — no statutory backing for the collegium process. [S3]

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• May 5, 2026: Cabinet approves increase in SC sanctioned strength (34 → 38). [S1]
• ~May 16, 2026: President promulgates Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026; amends Section 2 of the 1956 Act. [S1]
• May 27, 2026: SC Collegium recommends five names (four sitting HC Chief Justices + one senior advocate). [S4]
• June 2, 2026: President approves all five appointments; SC strength rises to 37 of 38. [S4]

7. Prelims Hooks

1. The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 is the enabling statute for fixing the number of SC judges — NOT the Constitution directly. [S1]
2. The 2026 Ordinance raised SC sanctioned strength from 34 to 38, creating 4 new posts. [S1]
3. The Ordinance was promulgated under Article 123 of the Constitution (Presidential Ordinance-making power). [S1]
4. SC judges are appointed under Article 124(2) — by the President in consultation with CJI (and such other judges as deemed fit). [S2]
5. The Collegium for SC appointments comprises the CJI + 4 senior-most SC judges. [S3]
6. The NJAC Act and 99th Constitutional Amendment were struck down in 2015 as violating the basic structure (judicial independence). [S3]
7. V. Mohana is a Bar appointment — one of the rare instances of a senior advocate being elevated directly to the SC. [S4]
8. As of June 2, 2026, there are 2 women judges on the Supreme Court: Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice (newly appointed) V. Mohana. [S4]
9. Justice B.V. Nagarathna was appointed to the SC in August 2021. [S4]
10. The SC's current strength of 37 is one short of the revised sanctioned cap of 38. [S4]
11. MoS Law & Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the appointments on June 2, 2026. [S4]
12. Article 124(3) specifies eligibility: must be a judge of an HC for 5+ years, or an advocate of an HC for 10+ years, or a "distinguished jurist" in the President's opinion. [S2]
13. An Ordinance must be laid before Parliament and lapses if not approved within 6 weeks of Parliament reassembling. [S1]

8. Mains Relevance

GS Paper: GS-II (Indian Constitution, Polity, Governance)

Specific Syllabus Headings: - Structure, organisation and functioning of the Judiciary (Supreme Court) - Appointment to various constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities - Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers

Plausible Mains Question Stems:

1. "The Collegium system for judicial appointments has been criticised for opacity while NJAC was struck down for compromising judicial independence. Critically examine whether India needs a middle path for judicial appointments." (GS-II, 15 marks)

2. "Despite constitutional provisions and recent appointments, women remain severely underrepresented in India's higher judiciary. Analyse the structural barriers and suggest reforms." (GS-II / GS-I, 10–15 marks)

3. "The recourse to the Ordinance route to raise Supreme Court judge strength raises questions about parliamentary oversight of the judiciary. Comment." (GS-II, 10 marks)

9. Related Topics to Study Next

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

1. Wrong article for appointment vs. removal: Appointment is under Article 124(2); removal (impeachment) of SC judges is under Article 124(4) — aspirants confuse the two.

2. Confusing sanctioned strength with operational strength: Sanctioned = 38; Operational (as of June 2, 2026) = 37. MCQs often test this distinction.

3. Wrong enabling act: The number of SC judges is fixed by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 (a parliamentary law), not by the Constitution directly. Many assume Article 124 fixes the number — it only says "as Parliament may prescribe."

4. NJAC confusion: The NJAC was struck down in 2015 (not 2014); the 99th Constitutional Amendment (not 121st Bill) was declared unconstitutional — confusing the Bill number with the Amendment number is a common trap.

5. Collegium composition: The SC Collegium for appointments is CJI + 4 senior-most judges (total 5), not 3 — the three-member collegium applies to HC appointments at the HC level.

11. Sources

• [S1] Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance 2026 — multiple reports — https://indialegallive.com/constitutional-law-news/courts-news/president-draupadi-murmu-clears-ordinance-increasing-supreme-court-strength-to-38-judges/ — (tier: 4)
• [S2] Article 124 — PRSIndia — https://prsindia.org/tags/article-124 — (tier: 1)
• [S3] Rethinking judicial appointments: Collegium vs. Commission — PRSIndia — https://prsindia.org/theprsblog/rethinking-judicial-appointments-collegium-vs-commission — (tier: 1)
• [S4] Centre clears five new judges for SC; strength rises to 37 — The Hindu, June 2, 2026 (article content supplied in prompt) — https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/2026-06-02/ — (tier: 4)