President Droupadi Murmu has promulgated the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, increasing the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court of India from 34 to 38, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The Ordinance, notified in the Gazette of India on May 16, amends Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, by replacing the existing strength of 33 judges, excluding the CJI, with 37 judges. As a result, the Apex Court will now comprise the Chief Justice of India and 37 other judges, taking its total sanctioned strength to 38.
The Ordinance has been promulgated under Article 123 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to issue ordinances when Parliament is not in session, and immediate legislative action is considered necessary.
The move comes amid rising pendency before the Apex Court and is expected to create four additional judicial posts. Appointments to the newly created vacancies will continue to be made through the collegium system in accordance with the constitutional procedure governing judicial appointments.
Earlier, on May 5, the Union Cabinet had approved a proposal to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges, including the CJI. Since Parliament was not in session, the Central government opted to implement the proposal through the ordinance route pending enactment of an amendment law by Parliament.
At present, the working strength of the Supreme Court remains below its sanctioned capacity, while several retirements are scheduled later this year. The increase in the strength of judges is expected to facilitate the constitution of additional Benches and improve the disposal of pending matters across constitutional, civil and criminal jurisdictions.
Under Article 124(1) of the Constitution, the Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of India and such number of judges as Parliament may by law prescribe. When it was established in 1950, the Apex Court had a sanctioned strength of eight judges, including the CJI.
The judges strength was first increased to 11 in 1956, later to 14 in 1960 and to 18 in 1977. It was subsequently enhanced to 26 judges in 1986 and to 31 judges in 2009. The last increase took place in 2019, when the sanctioned strength was raised from 31 to 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India.
The increase has been notified at a time when pendency before the Supreme Court has crossed 93,000 cases, raising concerns regarding timely adjudication and judicial capacity.
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