By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: The sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court has been increased from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India, after President Droupadi Murmu issued a fresh ordinance on Sunday, May 17.
With the latest amendment, the total number of judges in the apex court, including the CJI, will now rise to 38. The ordinance has been titled the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026.
Issued under Article 123 of the Constitution, the ordinance will be placed before both Houses of Parliament during the next session. It will remain in force unless both Houses reject it or Parliament fails to clear it within six weeks after reassembly. The President also has the power to revoke the ordinance before that period.
Changes introduced through the ordinance amend Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 by replacing the earlier sanctioned figure of 33 judges with 37.
The expansion in judicial strength comes shortly after the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to add more judges to the Supreme Court. Once implemented fully, the apex court’s total sanctioned capacity, including the CJI, will stand at 38 judges.
Rising pendency of cases is being seen as a major reason behind the move. More than 93,000 matters are currently pending before the court, with the number steadily increasing in recent years, particularly after e-filing became more common following the pandemic.
Concerns over the growing backlog have also intensified ahead of the court’s summer recess in June.
This marks the first revision in the Supreme Court’s sanctioned strength since 2019. At that time, Parliament had approved an increase from 31 to 33 judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India.
Currently, two posts remain vacant in the apex court following the retirement of former Chief Justice of India Justice B.R. Gavai in November 2025 and Justice Rajesh Bindal in April this year.
Further vacancies are expected later in 2026, with Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Pankaj Mithal set to retire in June, while Justice Sanjay Karol is scheduled to demit office in August.
The Constitution originally envisioned a much smaller Supreme Court. Article 124(1) provided for a Chief Justice of India along with a maximum of seven other judges, while empowering Parliament to increase the number through legislation.
Initially, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 fixed the strength of judges at 10, excluding the CJI. Over the decades, the number has been raised several times through amendments passed in 1960, 1986, 2009, and later in 2019.