President assented to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026, increasing the Court's sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges including the CJI

President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026, increasing the sanctioned strength of judges of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

The legislation, which gives statutory effect to the increase in the Court's sanctioned strength, follows its passage by Parliament. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on August 3, after which it was considered and returned by the Rajya Sabha.

The increase comes at a time when the Supreme Court is dealing with a substantial inflow of cases and an expanding Constitution Bench workload.

CJI Surya Kant had sought increase in judicial strength

During the Rajya Sabha debate, Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal disclosed that the proposal to increase the sanctioned strength was initiated after CJI Surya Kant wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an enhancement.

According to Meghwal, the CJI wrote to the Prime Minister on May 11, 2026, pointing to the growing inflow of cases and the need for the Supreme Court to maintain a high daily disposal rate.

The CJI also highlighted the impact of Constitution Bench proceedings on the Court's regular work.

Meghwal said that when judges are assigned to Constitution Benches, they are diverted from regular hearing work, inevitably affecting the Court's daily disposal rate. He cited the recently constituted nine-judge Constitution Bench hearing the Sabarimala reference as an example.

The CJI consequently proposed an increase in the sanctioned strength of judges.

Following the CJI's communication, the Union Government promulgated an ordinance on May 17 to raise the strength.

In May, the Chief Justice of India had wholeheartedly welcomed the Union government’s decision to increase the strength of the Supreme Court of India from 33 to 37 judges. “The total volume of pending cases and the rate at which new matters are being filed have increased significantly,”
the CJI had said appreciating the move.

Amendment replaced ordinance

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, was introduced in Parliament by Meghwal on July 20 during the Monsoon Session.

The legislation replaced the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated by the President earlier this year.

The ordinance had amended Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, by replacing the figure "33" with "37", thereby increasing the sanctioned strength, including the CJI, from 34 to 38.

The amendment is now part of the statutory framework following presidential assent.

Current working strength remains below sanctioned strength

Although the sanctioned strength has now been increased to 38, the Supreme Court's present working strength was stated to be 32 judges, including the CJI.

The increase therefore provides room for the appointment of additional judges to bring the Court closer to its newly sanctioned capacity.

Article 124 of the Constitution provides that the Supreme Court shall consist of the Chief Justice of India and such number of other judges as Parliament may prescribe by law.

The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court had last been increased in 2019, when Parliament raised it from 30 to 33 judges, excluding the CJI.

The latest amendment marks another increase in the statutory strength of the country's highest constitutional court, with the government citing the growing case burden and the demands of Constitution Bench adjudication as key factors behind the move.

Tags: