The Indian government has approved a proposal to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI), to address mounting caseloads and expedite justice delivery.
The decision, taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paves the way for introducing the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, in Parliament.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to expand the court’s capacity at a time when over 92,000 cases are pending.
According to an official statement, the increase was intended to strengthen the apex court and enable the speedier disposal of cases, noting that more than 92,000 cases were currently pending before it.
The move comes more than six years after the last revision in 2019, when Parliament raised the strength to 33 judges from 30.
The Constitution itself does not fix the number of judges in the Supreme Court, allowing successive governments to periodically revise the court’s strength in response to rising caseloads.
The Supreme Court of India officially began on January 28, 1950, with a sanctioned strength of eight judges -- one CJI and seven puisne judges.
