The strength of judges in the Supreme Court is set to increase after President Droupadi Murmu granted assent to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 3rd August. Subsequently, the Bill was considered by the Rajya Sabha, from which it was returned.
During discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the proposal to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court arose after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant wrote to Prime Minister Modi on 11th May seeking an increase in the sanctioned strength of judges.
As per the Law Minister, the CJI pointed out in the letter that the growing number of cases requires a larger number of judges to hear them to maintain a high daily disposal rate. The CJI added that the formation of Constitution benches to address questions of law also affects the hearing of ordinary cases. He cited the example of a nine-judge Constitution Bench hearing the Sabarimala reference.
Within a week of receiving the CJI’s letter, the government brought an Ordinance on 17th May. Subsequently, on 20th July, the Bill, seeking to replace the ordinance, was introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
The Bill amends Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 by replacing the figure “33” with “37”, thereby increasing the sanctioned strength from 34 to 38, including the CJI. The current working strength of the Supreme Court is 32, including the CJI. The strength of the Apex Court was last increased in 2019, from 30 to 33, excluding the CJI.
Now that the Bill has received the assent of President Murmu, it has paved the way for increasing the number of judges in the top court of the country. However, this will increase the Supreme Court‘s strength immediately, as the added number of judges will be appointed through the constitutional process prescribed under Article 124 (2) of the Constitution.
