The Union Cabinet has greenlit a proposal to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court by four, bringing the total sanctioned strength to 38, including the Chief Justice of India. This move, approved on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, aims to address the growing backlog of cases and bolster the court's capacity. The proposed increase will raise the judge count from the current 34 to 38.
The expansion is presented as a measure to enable more "efficient and effective" functioning of the Supreme Court, specifically targeting the "speedy disposal of cases" that currently stand at over 92,000 instances pending before the apex court. The financial implications, including salaries for the additional judges and supporting staff, will be covered by the Consolidated Fund of India. This legislative action comes six years after the last such augmentation of judicial strength.
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Legislative Adjustments Precede Court Capacity Boost
This increase necessitates an amendment to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act. The government is preparing to table this amendment bill in Parliament, signaling a formal legislative process to codify the enhanced judicial strength. The current strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice, has been in place for some time, with a few existing vacancies. The move also arrives as the court prepares for its summer recess, a period that often exacerbates the impact of case pendency.
The Constitution itself does not fix the number of judges; instead, it allows for such increases to be legislated upon. This flexibility has been utilized periodically over the decades. The evolution of the Supreme Court's judge strength shows a consistent upward trend in response to increasing judicial demands.
Historical Context of Judicial Augmentation
The Supreme Court's capacity has been incrementally expanded through various amendments to the governing Act. The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, initially enacted in 1956, originally set the limit at 10 judges, excluding the Chief Justice. Subsequent amendments in 1960, 1977, 1986, 2008, and most recently in 2019 saw the strength rise to 13, 17, 25, 30, and finally 33 judges (excluding the CJI), respectively.
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The contemporary push for a larger bench follows observations from legal experts and reflects a broader discourse on strengthening the judicial infrastructure to combat the chronic issue of case pendency and ensure timely adjudication of legal matters. The increase in filings, particularly amplified by measures like e-filing, has added pressure on the existing judicial framework.
