In a major development aimed at addressing judicial vacancies and strengthening the bench strength of the Madras High Court, the Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposals for the appointment of 19 new judges.
In its meeting held on May 18, 2026, the Collegium, headed by the Chief Justice of India, cleared the names of nine Judicial Officers and ten Advocates for elevation. The approved recommendations stem from multiple proposals forwarded between November and December 2025.
The final approval is the culmination of four distinct proposals submitted by the High Court Collegium to the Supreme Court. These proposals have been categorized into lists of Judicial Officers and Advocates based on their dates of origin:
1. Proposal dated November 4, 2025 (Judicial Officers)
The Collegium approved six Judicial Officers under this proposal:
- Dr. P. Murugan
- Mrs. M. D. Sumathi
- Mrs. S. Alli
- Mrs. C. Thirumagal Chandrasekar
- Shri Dharmalingam Lingeswaran
- Shri Karthikeyan Balathandayutham
2. Proposal dated November 21, 2025 (Advocates)
The Collegium approved six Advocates from this batch:
- Shri Natarajan Ramesh
- Shri G.K. Muthukumaar
- Shri Ramakrishnan Rajesh Vivekananthan
- Shri Sankaranarayanan Raveekumar
- Shri Nagarajan Dilip Kumar
- Shri Ellappan Manoharan
3. Proposal dated December 7, 2025 (Advocates)
Four Advocates recommended in this proposal received the Collegium’s clearance:
- Shri Krishnaswamy Govindarajan
- Shri Rajnish Pathiyil
- Shri K. Appadurai @ Kandavel Appadurai
- Mrs. Ramasamy Anitha
4. Proposal dated December 10, 2025 (Judicial Officers)
The final batch consists of three Judicial Officers:
- Shri Shanmugam Karthikeyan
- Shri Baluchamy Murugesan
- Shri N. Gunasekaran
The decision of the Supreme Court Collegium marks a significant step towards reinforcing the judicial capacity of the Madras High Court. This large-scale approval of both members of the bar (Advocates) and the district judiciary (Judicial Officers) ensures a balanced mix of expertise and experience on the High Court bench.
The recommendations will now be forwarded to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice for processing, after which the formal warrants of appointment will be issued by the President of India.
