New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has promulgated a crucial ordinance to increase the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court of India from 33 to 37 judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, officially alters Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, bringing the total maximum number of judges at the apex court to 38 including the Chief Justice of India.
The legislative expansion comes in response to a critical surge in structural demands and an escalating judicial backlog. Official data revealed that the total pendency of cases in the Supreme Court touched a record high of 93,143 cases as of March 31, 2026. The Union Cabinet had initially approved a proposal on May 5 to introduce an amendment bill during the next legislative session. However, because Parliament was not actively in session and the government desired to grant immediate effect to the expansion for speedy justice delivery, the Union administration chose to utilize the presidential ordinance route.
The top court currently operates with a working strength of 32 judges, including Chief Justice Surya Kant, which sits well below both the old and new limits. The workload pressures are expected to intensify further with four sitting apex court judges scheduled to retire later this year. Following the official notification of the ordinance, the Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, is anticipated to initiate high-level meetings to recommend qualified candidates to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to fill the newly created vacancies.
This development marks the first expansion of the Supreme Court’s bench strength since 2019, when the sanctioned capacity was raised from 31 to 33 judges, excluding the CJI. Under Article 124 (1) of the Indian Constitution, Parliament holds the absolute authority to prescribe and alter the maximum size of the apex judiciary. At its inception in 1950, the Supreme Court commenced operations with just eight judges, expanding gradually over the decades to 11 in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1977, 26 in 1986, and 31 in 2009 to handle the growing volume of legal appeals across the country.
