Why has Parliament increased the number of Supreme Court judges? | Explained
The Indian Parliament has passed a bill increasing the Supreme Court's sanctioned judge strength from 34 to 38. The government aims to address a massive backlog of over 92,000 pending cases by improving the court's disposal capacity.
Why it matters
Increasing judicial capacity is a critical step in addressing systemic delays in the Indian legal system.
The Lok Sabha on Monday (August 3, 2026) passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 , replacing an ordinance that increased the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The Bill was passed by voice vote without a debate amid Opposition protests over unrelated issues. It now awaits consideration in the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill amends the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 to increase the number of puisne (ordinary) judges from 33 to 37. With the CJI included, the apex court’s sanctioned strength rises from 34 to 38.
This is the first increase in the court’s strength since 2019, when Parliament raised the sanctioned strength from 31 to 34 judges.
The government has cited the growing backlog of cases in the Supreme Court.
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