JAMMU, May 28: The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the elevation of five persons, including Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Justice Arun Palli, as judges of the Supreme Court.
The recommendations were made during Collegium meetings held on May 22 and May 27. Besides Justice Arun Palli, the Collegium recommended the names of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court; and Senior Advocate V Mohana.
The proposed appointment of Senior Advocate V Mohana is expected to strengthen women’s representation in the Apex Court, which currently has only one woman judge, Justice B V Nagarathna. No woman has been elevated to the Supreme Court since August 2021.
The recommendations come shortly after the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court was increased from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. At present, the Apex Court is functioning with 32 judges, while two more vacancies are expected next month following the retirement of Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice Pankaj Mithal.
Justice Arun Palli, born on September 18, 1964, completed his graduation in Commerce and obtained his law degree from Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 1988. He began his legal practice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court and developed expertise in civil, criminal, constitutional, revenue, industrial and labour laws.
He served as Additional Advocate General for Punjab from September 2004 to March 2007 and was designated Senior Advocate on April 26, 2007. During his legal career, he also acted as amicus curiae in several important matters and appeared before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and Himachal Pradesh High Court in significant cases.
Justice Palli was elevated as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on December 28, 2013. He later served as Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority from May 2023 and was nominated as a member of the Governing Body of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in October 2023 for a two-year term.
He was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on April 12, 2025, and assumed office on April 16, 2025. (Agencies)
