Centre strengthens Supreme Court: Number of judges to be increased from 33 to 37

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to introduce The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament, seeking to raise the number of Su...

What Happened

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to introduce The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament, seeking to raise the number of Supreme Court judges (excluding the Chief Justice) from 33 to 37.
This will bring the total sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court to 38, including the Chief Justice of India — an increase of four judges.
The amendment requires Parliament to pass a simple legislation (not a constitutional amendment) under the framework established by Article 124(1) of the Constitution, which delegates the determination of judge numbers to Parliament by law.
The bill will be introduced in the upcoming parliamentary session; the expansion is a direct response to the mounting backlog of cases, with the Supreme Court recording over 92,000 pending matters as of January 2026.

Static Topic Bridges

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 is the parent legislation that governs the maximum permissible strength of the Supreme Court bench. Originally enacted when the Constituent Assembly's initial provision of eight judges (including CJI) proved insufficient, this two-section Act has served as the parliamentary instrument for all subsequent expansions. Parliament has amended it seven times since 1956 — making it one of the most frequently amended pieces of Indian legislation in the judicial domain.

Original strength (1950): 8 judges including CJI (7 others)
1956: raised to 11; 1960: 14; 1978: 18; 1986: 26; 2009: 31; 2019: 34 (33 + CJI)
2026 (proposed): 38 (37 + CJI)
The 2019 amendment was passed in both Houses within two days, following a recommendation from then-CJI Ranjan Gogoi citing rising pendency
Amendment requires a simple majority in both Houses of Parliament — no special majority needed, as this is ordinary legislation, not a constitutional amendment

Connection to this news: The Amendment Bill, 2026 will be the eighth legislative expansion of the Supreme Court's bench strength, continuing the pattern of parliamentary responses to growing judicial pendency.

Article 124(1) of the Constitution of India

Article 124(1) establishes the Supreme Court of India and deliberately leaves its size flexible. The provision reads that there shall be a Supreme Court of India "consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges." This design — keeping the court's size as a parliamentary determination rather than a constitutional fixed number — allows responsive scaling without requiring constitutional amendments.

Article 124(1): establishes SC and delegates judge-count to Parliament by ordinary law
Article 124(2): deals with appointment of judges by the President in consultation with the collegium
Distinction: changing the number of judges requires only ordinary legislation (simple majority); changing the appointment process or tenure requires a constitutional amendment
The collegium system — through which the CJI and senior judges recommend appointments — operates under Article 124(2) and evolved through the Three Judges Cases (1981, 1993, 1998)

Connection to this news: The Cabinet's approval is the first step in the ordinary legislative process under Article 124(1); once Parliament enacts the bill and the President assents, the amendment becomes operative, and the collegium can begin recommending four additional names for appointment.

Judicial Pendency and Access to Justice

Case pendency is a structural challenge in Indian courts that directly constrains access to justice. At the Supreme Court level, pendency has grown consistently despite periodic bench expansions, reflecting a combination of increasing litigation volumes, complex constitutional matters, and the court's role as the final court of appeal for over 1.4 billion people.

Supreme Court pendency (January 2026): over 92,800 cases — an all-time high
Supreme Court pendency (November 2025): 90,694 pending matters
National judicial backlog (March 2026): over 55.8 million cases across all courts
India has approximately 15 judges per million people vs. 150 per million in the United States
Over 1.8 lakh cases pending in district and high courts for more than 30 years
The government (central and state) is the single largest litigant, accounting for approximately 50% of pending cases

Connection to this news: The four-judge expansion is specifically aimed at reducing SC pendency. Additional judges expand bench capacity, enabling more simultaneous bench sittings and faster disposal of constitutional matters, special leave petitions, and cases from remote petitioners.

The Collegium System and Judicial Appointments

The collegium system is the mechanism through which Supreme Court judges are appointed in India. It emerged from judicial interpretation rather than constitutional text — specifically the "Three Judges Cases" — and gives the judiciary primacy in selecting its own members. The collegium's composition and powers are critical context for understanding how any expansion of the bench is operationalized.

First Judges Case (1981): held that "consultation" in Article 124(2) did not mean "concurrence" — executive had primacy
Second Judges Case (1993): overruled the first; held CJI's advice on appointments is binding — collegium system born
Third Judges Case (1998): expanded collegium to CJI + four most senior SC judges
Fourth Judges Case / NJAC case (2015): SC struck down the 99th Constitutional Amendment and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act — collegium system upheld
Process: collegium recommends → President appoints under Article 124(2)

Connection to this news: Once Parliament passes the amendment, the collegium will recommend four new judges. The process — collegium recommendation, government processing, and Presidential appointment — typically takes several months after legislative enactment.

Key Facts & Data

Bill: The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026
Parent Act being amended: The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956
Constitutional basis: Article 124(1) of the Constitution of India
Current sanctioned strength: 34 (CJI + 33 judges)
Proposed strength: 38 (CJI + 37 judges)
Increase: 4 additional judges
Type of legislation: Ordinary bill — simple majority in both Houses; no constitutional amendment required
Supreme Court pending cases (January 2026): 92,828 — an all-time high
Previous expansion: 2019, from 31 to 34 (i.e., 30 to 33 excluding CJI)
Total amendments to the 1956 Act (including proposed): 7
India's judge-to-population ratio: approximately 15 per million (vs. 150 per million in the USA)