A Bill to increase the strength of Supreme Court judges was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday (July 20) in the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, a bill to further amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. It seeks to replace an ordinance which increased the number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38 including the Chief Justice Off India.
For context, the President of India had in May promulgated an Ordinance to increase the number of Supreme Court Judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India.
Pursuant to this the Supreme Court now has a sanctioned strength of 38 judges, including the CJI. The present working strength of the Supreme Court is 32 (including the CJI).
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance 2026 was promulgated to amend Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to replace the word "33" therein with "37".
As per Article 124 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court comprises the Chief Justice of India and the number of Judges which the Parliament prescribes by way of law.
On May 5 that the Union Cabinet cleared the proposal to increase the strength of Supreme Court Judges. The last time the number of Supreme Court Judges was increased was in 2019, when it was raised to 33 from 30 (excluding the CJI).
The proposed bill does not require an amendment to the Constitution and requires a simple majority for passage.