Centre Approves Increase in Supreme Court Judges from 33 to 37

New Delhi:The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a proposal to increase the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court by four judges, from the current 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India. To implement the change, the Cabinet has also cleared the introduction of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 to formalise the expansion.

Briefing reporters on the decisions of the Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the increase in the number of Judges will allow the Supreme Court to function more efficiently and effectively, ensuring speedy justice.

The expenditure on the salaries of Judges and supporting staff and other facilities will be met from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Article 124 (1) in the Constitution of India provides that there shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, "until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges...".

An act to increase the strength of the judges of the Supreme Court of India was enacted in 1956 vide The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956. Section 2 of the Act provided for the maximum number of Judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India) to be 10, an official release said.

The Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India was increased to 13 by The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1977. The working strength of the Supreme Court of India was, however, restricted to 15 Judges by the Cabinet, excluding the Chief Justice of India, till the end of 1979, when the restriction was withdrawn at the request of the Chief Justice of India.

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986 further augmented the Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India, excluding the Chief Justice of India, from 17 to 25. Subsequently, The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2008, further augmented the Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India from 25 to 30.

The Judge 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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