The Lok Sabh passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, without discussion, paving the way for increasing the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.
Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the Bill during the post-lunch sitting of the House. While introducing the legislation, Meghwal said the increase in the Court’s strength was necessitated by the growing pendency of cases and was aimed at improving the efficiency and functioning of the country’s highest court.
The Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 20 during the Monsoon Session, seeks to replace the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated earlier this year.
In May, the President had promulgated the Ordinance to amend Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, increasing the number of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India. As a result, the sanctioned strength of the apex court now stands at 38 judges, including the CJI.
Despite the enhanced sanctioned strength, the Supreme Court is currently functioning with 32 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, leaving several vacancies yet to be filled.
The proposal to expand the Court’s strength was approved by the Union Cabinet on May 5, in view of the increasing workload and mounting case backlog before the apex court.
Under Article 124 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of India and such number of judges as Parliament may prescribe by law. Consequently, increasing the Court’s sanctioned strength requires only an amendment to the SupremeCourt (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, and not a constitutional amendment.
The last revision to the Supreme Court’s sanctioned strength took place in 2019, when Parliament increased the number of judges from 30 to 33, excluding the Chief Justice of India.
Having been passed by the Lok Sabha, the Bill will now be taken up by the Rajya Sabha before it can receive Presidential assent and replace the Ordinance with a permanent statutory amendment.
The post Lok Sabha passes bill raising Supreme Court’s sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 Judges, including the CJI appeared first on India Legal.