Cabinet approves proposal to increase number of Supreme Court judges by 4

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared a proposal to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.

• The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 will be introduced in Parliament to amend The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 for increasing the number of judges.

• The sanctioned strength of the top court is 34 judges, including the CJI. 

• The increase in the number of judges will allow the Supreme Court to function more efficiently and effectively ensuring speedy justice.

• The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendation of the CJI, who writes to the Union Law Minister. 

• After consulting with the Finance Ministry, the Department of Justice in the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft Bill.

• The expenditure on salary of Judges and supporting staff and other facilities will be met from the Consolidated Fund of India. 

Increase in number of SC judges

• Article 124 (1) in Constitution of India inter-alia provided “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…” 

• The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956, as originally enacted, provided for the maximum number of judges (excluding the chief justice of India) to be 10.

• This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1977. 

• The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of the Supreme Court judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI. 

• Subsequently, a fresh amendment in 2009 further augmented the strength of Supreme Court judges from 25 to 30.

• The strength of the Supreme Court was increased to 33 (excluding the CJI) by further amending the original law in 2019.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)