The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 is a legislative proposal, or Bill, that seeks to increase the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court of India. Its primary purpose is to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. The Bill was approved by the Union Cabinet on May 5, 2026, and is slated to be tabled in Parliament.
The original Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, was enacted by Parliament, which is empowered by Article 124(1) of the Constitution to prescribe a larger number of judges than the initial eight (one Chief Justice and seven others). The 1956 Act initially fixed the maximum number of judges at ten, excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The strength has been increased multiple times since then, including to 31 in 2009 and to 34 (33 judges plus the CJI) by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019.
The 2026 Bill proposes to increase the number of judges by four, raising the maximum sanctioned strength from the current 33 judges (excluding the CJI) to 37 judges (excluding the CJI). This would make the total strength, including the CJI, 38. The increase is intended to enable the Supreme Court to function "more efficiently and effectively" and address the high pendency of cases, which stood at 92,823 as of April 30, 2026. The expenditure for the salaries and facilities of the additional judges will be met from the Consolidated Fund of India. The mechanism involves amending Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.