The Union Cabinet on Tuesday (May 5) cleared a proposal to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38. At present, the Supreme Court has an approved strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at present, the apex court has 33 judges and the CJI. A Bill will be brought in the next session of Parliament to raise this strength by four. Once it is cleared by Parliament, the number of Supreme Court judges will stand at 38, including the CJI.
Govt to bring bill in Parliament
"The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi today has approved the proposal for introducing The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament to amend The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 for increasing the number of Judges of the Supreme Court of India by 4 from the present 33 to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice of India)," the government said in a statement.
It further said that the increase in the number of judges will allow the Supreme Court to function more efficiently and effectively, ensuring speedy justice.
"The expenditure on salary of Judges and supporting staff and other facilities will be met from the Consolidated Fund of India," the government said.
Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956, as originally enacted, provided for the maximum number of judges (excluding the chief justice of India) to be 10.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 another amendment to the law.
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 top court judges from 25 to 30.
The strength of the Supreme Court of India was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the Chief Justice of India) by further amending the original act vide The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019.
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