Supreme Court Five new judges are set to be appointed after the Central government approved the names recommended by the SC collegium, taking the apex court closer to its newly expanded sanctioned strength of 38.Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced on Friday that the President has approved the appointment of four high court chief justices and senior advocate V. Mohana as judges of the Supreme Court under Article 124(2) of the Constitution.The persons appointed are:Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High CourtJustice Shri Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of Bombay High CourtJustice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High CourtJustice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High CourtSenior Advocate Venkita Subramani MohanaThe appointments come days after the SC collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recommended his elevation on May 27. This is the first major set of collegium appointments under CJI Surya Kant, who took charge in November 2025.This development follows the Centre’s decision to increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026. With these five appointments, the number of judges in the Supreme Court will increase to 37, leaving only one vacancy.The purpose of this expansion is to address the increasing number of cases pending in the apex court and enable the formation of more regular constitution benches. The latest appointments are expected to strengthen the capacity of the court, reflecting considerations of seniority, merit, regional representation and gender diversity.Based on inputs from ANI