In Justice V Mohana, Supreme Court Gets A Woman Judge Appointment After 5 Years; Two Women Judges In SC Now

With the elevation of Senior Advocate V. Mohana to the Supreme Court, the apex court has got a woman judge after a gap of more than five years. Unitl Justice Mohana's appointment, Justice B.V. Nagarathna was the only woman judge in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on May 27 recommended the elevation of four High Court Chief Justices and senior advocate V. Mohana as judges of the apex court. The Central Government cleared the recommendations on May 31, and the five judges took oath today.

Mohana is the first woman to be elevated to the Supreme Court since August 2021, when Justices Hima Kohli, B.V. Nagarathna and Bela Trivedi were appointed together to the top court. She would also become only the second woman lawyer to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court after former judge Justice Indu Malhotra.

The highest number of women judges the Supreme Court had at a time is 4, when Justices Indira Banerjee, Hima Kohli, BV Nagarathna and Bela Trivedi were present simultaneously from August 2021 till Justice Banerjee's retirement in September 2022. Justice Hima Kohli retired in September 2024 followed by Justice Bela M. Trivedi in May 2025.

About Justice Mohana

Justice Mohana was a first-generation lawyer, who started practice in 1988 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. In 1992, she shifted to Delhi, and joined the office of Indu Malhotra- who was later elevated to the Supreme Court. She has also been part of the chamber of Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan. In 1996, she cleared the Advocates-on-Record exam. She was conferred the senior designation in 2015.

The Centre also approved the names of Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Arun Palli for elevation to the Supreme Court.

With these appointments, the Supreme Court's strength has risen to 37 against a sanctioned strength of 38.