Justice V. Mohana: A historic ascent to India’s highest Court

A trailblazing advocate breaks barriers as only second woman elevated directly from the bar to the Supreme Court of India

On 2^nd June 2026, India Supreme Court witnessed a moment of quiet but profound significant change. When Venkita Subramani Mohana becomes only second women lawyer practicing in the Supreme Court to be directly appointed as a judge. The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief 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.

Who is V Mohana?

Born in Pollachi on 27 June 1966 in Tamil Nadu. V. Mohana raised in a family were discipline, hard work, passion considered the most important values in life. Her father, S .Ventika Subramani Iyer served in Army and then as senior entomologist with the Government of Tamil Nadu. Her father laid the foundation of discipline and spirit and her mother kaveri Ammal, recognized her daughter’s exceptional talent. Her story is one of self- made determination in a profession historically dominated by influential legal families and men.

Justice Mohana is a first- generation lawyer who graduation from Coimbatore Law College in 1988, as part of India’s first batch of the five- year law course. At the time, the institution was still in its infancy. The classes were held on rented buildings, the library was limited, and the facilities were far from those available in modern law schools. Out of 83 students, only about nine were women. She distinguished herself through hard work, and unwavering commitment to learning. In those 5 years she excelled in academics while participating in debates, theatre and public speaking. She supported herself by taking tuitions and lived in a working women’s hostel.

In her final year, Mohana joined the chambers of civil lawyer M Panchapakesan, where the learning was about fundamentals, of litigation- maintaining case studies, drafting pleadings and observing court judgement, proceedings. Later she moved to Delhi, where she joined the chamber of Justice Indu Malhotra (who later become the Supreme Court Judge) – then a practicing advocate. And also worked under Senior Advocate C S Vaidyanathan and former Attorney General K.K Venugopal. These were formative years under the guidance of some of India’s sharpest legal minds and the training evidently turned into a lasting impression.

Mohana qualified the Advocate-on-Record examination in 1996and then Supreme Court designated her a Senior Advocate in 2015. Over the course of nearly four decades at the Bar, she appeared in wide range of high-profile constitutional and service law matters that placed her at the forefront on India’s most consequential legal debaters.

The landmark Army case

If there is one case that defines justice Mohana’s public legacy, it is her role in permanent commission for women officers in Indian Army. Mohana represents women officers in the landmark case, which becomes India’s most significant gender- equality judgement in Armed Forces. The case challenged army long standing refusal to grant permanent commission to women officers, who were limited to short services contracts. The Supreme court ruling in favor of women officers in 2020 was a watershed moment for gender equality in Indian Institution and Mohana was the key voice in securing it.

Beyond the Army case she appeared in the 2022, Karnataka Hijab row, the permanent commission case, and represented the Union of India in the 2015 National Judicial Appointments Commission case. This breadth of practice- spanning individual rights, constitutional law, and state representation- reflects the versatility that marked her as an exceptional Advocate.

A double historic Appointment

Justice Mohana’s elevation to the Supreme Court is historic on two distinct counts. She is the second woman who was directly elevated from the bar to the apex court. The only other woman who achieved the distinction before was Justice Indu Malhotra, who was appointed to Supreme Court in April 2018. Strikingly, Justice Mohan was trained under Justice Indu Malhotra’s chamber in the early years of her career- a rare circulatory in Indian legal history.

She is only the 12^th Judge in the history and the second woman who elevated directly from the bar to the Supreme Court bench. The overwhelming majority of Supreme Court judges comes to the apex court after serving as High Court judges, often as Chief Justice of High Courts, direct elevation from Bar is reserved for advocates of exceptional standing making this recognition as rare as it is significant.

If she serves her full tenure, Justice Mohana will remain on the bench until June 27,2032. During that period, she will sit alongside Justice Nagarathna, who is in line to become India’s first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027- making coming years a genuinely transformative chapter for women in the country’s judiciary.

A symbol of what is possible

Justice V. Mohana story is more than a biographical milestone. It is a signal that pathways exists- however narrow – without the privileges of any judicial lineage or institution network. A first-generation lawyer from Chennai who studied in Coimbatore, trained in Delhi and argued before the nations highest court for nearly four decades. She has earned her seat on the bench through sheer legal excellence.

when the court was established in 1950, women have always been underrepresented. Her appointment helps correct that imbalance and inspires future generations of women who aspire to build careers in law.