{"id":102540,"date":"2026-05-08T17:12:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=102540"},"modified":"2026-05-08T17:12:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:42:39","slug":"cabinet-approves-sc-judge-strength-increase-to-37","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/cabinet-approves-sc-judge-strength-increase-to-37\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet Approves SC Judge Strength Increase to 37"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to introduce the <\/span><b>Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend the <\/span><b>Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act,1956<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to <\/span><b>increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 Key Provisions\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bill proposes an increase in the number of Judges in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/supreme-court-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Supreme Court<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of India by <\/span><b><i>four additional judges.<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The total <\/span><b>strength will rise from 33 to 37 Judges, excluding the <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/chief-justice-of-india-cji\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Chief Justice of India<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposal is currently at the Bill introduction stage in <\/span><b>Parliament<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and has not yet become law.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Constitutional Basis<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The power to determine the strength of the Supreme Court is derived from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/article-124-of-indian-constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Article 124(1)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Constitution of India.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 124(1)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> states that the Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice of India and,<\/span><b> \u201cuntil Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, the strength of judges in the Supreme Court cannot be changed by executive order and requires a law passed by Parliament.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast, the High Courts operate under <\/span><b>Article 216<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where the power to determine and vary the number of judges lies with the <\/span><b>President of India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, exercised through executive action on the recommendation of the Union government.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Evolution of Judge Strength in the Supreme Court of India<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of judges in the Supreme Court has been progressively increased over time through legislative amendments:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>1956<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 was enacted. It initially fixed the maximum strength at 10 Judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India) under Section 2.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>1960<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Strength increased to 13 Judges through an amendment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>1977<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Strength further increased to 17 Judges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>1979<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Temporary administrative restriction): Working strength was restricted to 15 Judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India, which was later withdrawn.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>1986<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Strength increased from 17 to 25 Judges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>2008<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Strength increased from 25 to 30 Judges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Strength further increased from 30 to 33 Judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>2026 (Proposed)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Current Bill proposes increase from 33 to 37 Judges.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Need for Increasing Supreme Court Judge Strength<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposal to increase the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court of India arises from structural pressures on the judicial system and the need to improve disposal efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>High pendency of cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Supreme Court is burdened with a backlog of over 92,000 cases, affecting timely adjudication.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rising complexity of litigation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Increasing constitutional, commercial, and rights-based disputes demand greater judicial capacity and specialization.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Higher case inflow due to digital access<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Expansion of e-filing and digital systems has increased accessibility and overall case submissions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Limited bench availability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Existing judge strength restricts the simultaneous functioning of multiple benches, delaying hearings.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Workload pressure on judges<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Heavy caseload per judge impacts efficiency and increases delays in disposal of matters.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Significance of Increasing Supreme Court Judge Strength<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The enhancement of judicial strength is aimed at improving institutional efficiency and strengthening the delivery of justice at the apex level.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Faster case disposal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Additional judges enable better distribution of workload, improving overall disposal rates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Strengthening bench system<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Facilitates constitution of more Division Benches and Constitution Benches for continuous hearings.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Improved institutional efficiency<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Enhances the administrative and functional capacity of the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Better handling of complex matters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Strengthens capacity to address constitutional interpretation and inter-state disputes effectively.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Enhanced public confidence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Timely justice delivery improves trust in the efficiency and responsiveness of the judicial system.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cabinet approved a Bill to increase Supreme Court judge strength from 33 to 37 to reduce case backlog, improve efficiency, and ensure faster justice delivery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":102570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[7421],"class_list":{"0":"post-102540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-cabinet-approves-sc-judge-strength-increase-to-37","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102540"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102543,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102540\/revisions\/102543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}