Inside the Supreme Court Collegium's latest recommendations: Two High Court chief justices superseded; Second ever woman judge directly elevated

YESTERDAY, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of four chief justices of high courts and one senior advocate for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court released a statement to this effect yesterday evening.

The Collegium, which comprises Chief Justice of India (‘CJI’) Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari, B.V. Nagarathna and M.M. Sundresh, has recommended the names of Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Sheel Nagu; Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Shree Chandrashekhar; Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Sanjeev Sachdeva; Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Arun Palli; and Senior Advocate V. Mohana for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court.

This is the first set of recommendations made by the Collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant for elevation to the Supreme Court.

None of the recommended candidates will go on to become Chief Justice of India.

Justice Sheel Nagu adds to Madhya Pradesh’s representation in the Supreme Court

Justice Nagu originally hails from the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He was appointed as an Additional Judge there on May 27, 2011 and made permanent on May 23, 2013. He was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on May 25, 2024 and later as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 9, 2024, where he is presently posted. If appointed to the Supreme Court, he will retire on December 31, 2029.

With the appointment of Justice Nagu to the Supreme Court, there will be four judges from the Madhya Pradesh High Court on the Supreme Court Bench. The other three are Justices Satish Chandra Sharma, Alok Aradhe and Maheshwari, the last of whom is part of the Collegium, also from Madhya Pradesh, and is set to retire next month.

Justice Nagu also headed an in-house inquiry, which indicted Justice Yashwant Varma after burnt currency notes were discovered in his official residence during a firefighting operation.

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar’s appointment supersedes Jharkhand HC’s Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar hails from the Jharkhand High Court. He was appointed as a judge there on January 17, 2013 and as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on September 5, 2025. 

With his appointment to the Supreme Court, the Jharkhand High Court will once again have representation on the Supreme Court Bench. 

The last judge from Jharkhand was Justice M.Y. Eqbal, who retired in 2016. 

However, the appointment of Justice Chandrashekhar will supersede Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, who is senior to him in inter-se seniority among Jharkhand High Court judges. Justice Singh is currently the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court. 

Justice Chandrashekhar was part of a Judges’ Inquiry Committee formed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to probe allegations of corruption against Justice Yashwant Varma. The committee submitted its report to the speaker earlier this month.

The Collegium’s statement does not explain what necessitated the supersession of Justice Singh. If appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Chandrashekhar will have a tenure until May 24, 2030.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva adds to Delhi HC’s representation in Supreme Court

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva comes from the Delhi High Court. He was appointed as a judge there on April 17, 2013 and as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on July 17, 2025. 

If elevated to the Supreme Court, he will serve until December 25, 2029. With his appointment, the Supreme Court will have two judges from the Delhi High Court, the other being Justice Manmohan.

Justice Arun Palli’s appointment supersedes Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia

Justice Arun Palli originally belongs to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was appointed as a judge there on December 28, 2013 and as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on April 16, 2025. 

If appointed to the Supreme Court, he will serve until September 17, 2029. With his appointment, there will be three judges from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the Supreme Court, including CJI Surya Kant and Justice Augustine George Masih.

The appointment of Justice Palli will supersede Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, who is senior to him in inter-se seniority at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Once again, the Collegium has not given any reasons for superseding Justice Sandhawalia, who is currently the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

Notably, Justice Sandhawalia would have been the first Sikh judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court since the retirement of former CJI J.S. Khehar in August 2017.