The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to introduce The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, to increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court of India.

The Bill seeks to raise the number of judges from the existing 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India. This is said to address the case pendency and the expanding demands on the apex court.

Article 124(1) of the Constitution provides that the Supreme Court shall consist of the Chief Justice of India and such number of judges as Parliament may by law prescribe. Over the years, Parliament has periodically increased this strength in response to the growing judicial workload.

The Court’s strength was initially fixed at 10 judges (excluding the Chief Justice) under the 1956 Act. It was subsequently raised to 13 in 1960, 17 in 1977, and 25 in 1986. Later expansions increased the number to 30 in 2008 and 33 in 2019.