Judicial Appointments Framework: Working Strength Expanded to Match Sanctioned Strength of 38 Judges Under Article 124(2)
In a historic executive decision re-architecting the gender representation and composition of the apex judiciary, the **Supreme Court Collegium has formally recommended senior advocate V. Mohana for direct elevation from the Bar as a Judge of the Supreme Court**. The landmark recommendation, which was submitted alongside the names of four distinguished High Court Chief Justices, marks the first instance of a woman lawyer being directly elevated from the Bar to the apex court bench after a gap of over five years.
The Sanctioned Strength Expansion and the Collegium Composition
The administrative restructuring scales up the apex bench's adjudication capacity to clear historical case backlogs:
- The 38-Judge Strength Expansion: These elite judicial recommendations follow a recent legislative modification that successfully **increased the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI), from 32 to 38**, allowing for a larger multi-bench infrastructure.
- Senior Advocate V. Mohana's Lineage: Designated as a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in 2015 with over three decades of robust practice, **V. Mohana stands as only the 11th advocate in national history to be directly elevated from the Bar** to the Supreme Court. Currently, **Justice B.V. Nagarathna** operates as the sole sitting woman judge on the bench and participates actively as a member of the Collegium framework.
- The Four High Court Chief Justices Roster: To fill the expanded seats, the Collegium systematically cleared the names of four senior High Court Chief Justices: **Justice Sheel Nagu (Punjab and Haryana HC), Justice Shree Chandrashekhar (Bombay HC), Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva (Madhya Pradesh HC), and Justice Arun Palli (Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh HC)**.
For TNPSC and Civil Services Indian Polity candidates, this judicial elevation serves as a premium reference under 'Structure and Strength of the Supreme Court, Article 124 Appointments, The Collegium System vs Executive Accord, and Gender Representation in Indian Judiciary' (Unit 1).