President Droupadi Murmu has given assent to the Union Cabinet's decision to raise the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court of India from 34 to 38, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced on Sunday.
In a post on X, Meghwal stated that the President had promulgated The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, increasing the number of judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India, by amending the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.
Earlier this month, on May 5, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a proposal to introduce The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament. The proposal sought to expand the apex court’s sanctioned judicial strength by four judges.
The decision has received support from several members of the legal fraternity, many of whom described the move as necessary to address the mounting pendency of cases before the apex court.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, who heads the Supreme Court Bar Association, said there had long been a demand for increasing the Court’s strength because of the steady growth in case filings. He noted that while Supreme Court judges have maintained a strong disposal rate, the rising caseload requires additional judicial capacity.
Singh also pointed to the importance of strengthening court infrastructure alongside increasing appointments. He expressed hope that a portion of the new Supreme Court building would become operational later this year. According to him, the Court can presently accommodate 38 judges comfortably, and the requirement may eventually rise to nearly 50 judges once the entire complex is functional.
While the Centre’s decision has broadly been welcomed, several legal experts have underlined that increasing judicial strength must be accompanied by broader structural reforms to effectively tackle delays and case backlog in the justice delivery system.
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