The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved a proposal to enhance the sanctioned judicial strength of the Supreme Court from 33 to 37 judges.
The decision entails the introduction of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, in Parliament to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. The proposed amendment seeks to increase the number of puisne judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI), thereby taking the total judicial strength to 38, including the CJI.
At present, the Apex Court operates with a sanctioned strength of 34 judges. The augmentation is intended to address the increasing case backlog, improve disposal rates, and strengthen institutional efficiency in the administration of justice. The government has indicated that the additional financial outlay towards salaries, staff, and related infrastructure will be met from the Consolidated Fund of India.
The legislative competence to determine the strength of the Supreme Court is derived from Article 124 of the Constitution of India, which authorises Parliament to prescribe the number of judges by law. The 1956 Act operationalises this constitutional mandate and has been periodically amended to respond to growing judicial workload.
As per the statutory evolution outlined in the official release, the original enactment in 1956 fixed the strength of puisne judges at 10. This was increased to 13 through the 1960 amendment and to 17 under the 1977 amendment.
Although the sanctioned strength stood at 17, the working strength was administratively capped at 15 judges until 1979, when the restriction was lifted at the instance of the Chief Justice of India. Subsequent amendments expanded the strength to 25 in 1986 and to 30 in 2008. The most recent revision prior to the present proposal was effected through the 2019 amendment, which increased the number of judges from 30 to 33, excluding the CJI.
The current proposal represents a continuation of this calibrated statutory expansion, aimed at augmenting judicial capacity and ensuring more effective discharge of the Supreme Court’s constitutional functions.
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