Union Cabinet approves decision to increase strength of Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges

In a significant decision, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges.

At present, the Supreme Court has an approved strength of 34 judges including the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

The government has now decided to introduce The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 to increase the number of judges by four.

"The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today has approved the proposal for introducing The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament to amend The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 for increasing the number of Judges of the Supreme Court of India by 4 from the present 33 to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice of India)," the government said in a statement.

It added that the increase in the number of judges will allow the Supreme Court to function more efficiently and effectively, ensuring speedy justice.

When the Supreme Court was created in 1950, it had only eight judges, including the CJI.

As per the Article 124 (1) in Constitution of India:

“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…”.

The number of judges for the top court was first increased in 1956 to 11, including the CJI.

It was later increased to 14 in 1960 and 18 in 1977.

However, it remained restricted to 15 judges by the Cabinet till the end of 1979 when the restriction was withdrawn at the request of then CJI.

Later, the judge strength was increased from 18 to 26 in 1986. In 2009, the number was increased from 26 to 31.

The judge strength was last increased from 31 to 34 in 2019.