The Union Cupboard, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday accepted a proposal to boost the sanctioned judicial energy of the Supreme Court docket from 34 to 38 judges, together with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The choice includes amending the Supreme Court docket (Variety of Judges) Act, 1956, by way of the proposed Supreme Court docket (Variety of Judges) Modification Invoice, 2026, which shall be launched in Parliament.
The augmentation is meant to deal with the rising case backlog, enhance disposal charges, and strengthen institutional effectivity within the administration of justice. As per an official assertion, the extra monetary outlay in direction of salaries, workers, and associated infrastructure shall be met from the Consolidated Fund of India.
At current, the Apex Court docket has a sanctioned energy of 34 judges, together with CJI Surya Kant. The modification proposes to extend the variety of puisne judges by 4, from 33 to 37, taking the overall energy to 38 judges, together with the CJI.
The legislative competence to find out the energy of the Supreme Court docket is derived from Article 124 of the Structure of India, which authorises Parliament to prescribe the variety of judges by regulation. The 1956 Act operationalises this constitutional mandate and has been periodically amended to answer rising judicial workload.
As per the statutory evolution outlined within the official assertion, the unique enactment in 1956 mounted the energy of puisne judges at 10. This was elevated to 13 by way of the 1960 modification and to 17 underneath the 1977 modification. Though the sanctioned energy stood at 17, the working energy was administratively capped at 15 judges till 1979, when the restriction was lifted on the occasion of the Chief Justice of India.
Subsequent amendments expanded the energy to 25 in 1986 and to 30 in 2008. The newest revision prior to the current proposal was effected by way of the 2019 modification, which elevated the variety of judges from 30 to 33, excluding the CJI. The present proposal represents a continuation of this calibrated statutory growth, geared toward augmenting judicial capability and guaranteeing more practical discharge of the Supreme Court docket’s constitutional capabilities.
