Jammu: In a significant development for the judiciary, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of five persons as judges of the apex court, including Arun Palli, who is currently serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The recommendations were made during Collegium meetings held on May 22 and May 27.
Apart from Justice Palli, the Collegium recommended the names of Sheel Nagu, Shree Chandrashekhar, Sanjeev Sachdeva and senior advocate V Mohana for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court of India.
Justice Arun Palli’s recommendation assumes significance for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, as he has been heading the High Court here and has presided over several important judicial and administrative matters during his tenure.
The move comes shortly after the Union Cabinet approved the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which proposes increasing the sanctioned strength of the apex court from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.
At present, the law allows a maximum strength of 33 judges excluding the Chief Justice of India. The proposed amendment seeks to raise this number to 37 judges besides the CJI in view of rising pendency and growing workload in the country’s highest court.
The Supreme Court currently has a working strength of 32 judges, while several retirements are scheduled this year. Justice Rajesh Bindal retired in April, while Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Pankaj Mithal are due to retire in June. Justice Sanjay Karol is set to retire in August and Justice Satish Sharma in November.
With multiple vacancies expected, the Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is likely to recommend more names in the coming months.
