Parliament Monsoon Session Day 3 LIVE: Lok Sabha to take up Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026
On Day 3 of the Monsoon Session, the Lok Sabha took up the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which raises the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 20, 2026, and seeks parliamentary ratification of an ordinance the President had earlier promulgated in May 2026 enhancing the judge strength to the same figure.
The first two days of the Monsoon Session recorded no substantive legislative business in either House amid sustained disruptions.
The Bill amends the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, an ordinary law enacted under Article 124(1) of the Constitution, and requires only a simple majority to pass.
Article 124(1) — Composition of the Supreme Court
Article 124(1) of the Constitution establishes the Supreme Court as consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, "until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number," not more than seven other judges. This is a rare instance where the Constitution itself sets a default ceiling but hands Parliament the power to override it through ordinary legislation, not a constitutional amendment.
Key Details
- The original ceiling of seven puisne judges (plus the CJI) meant a sanctioned strength of eight in 1950.
- Parliament has revised the strength through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 and subsequent amendments: to 13 in 1960, 17 in 1977, 25 in 1986, 30 in 2008, and 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
- The 2026 Amendment Bill raises this to 37, excluding the CJI — a jump of four judges over the 2019 level.
- Because Article 124(1) permits change "by law" rather than by constitutional amendment, only a simple majority in each House is needed — unlike changes to, say, the basic structure of judicial independence.
The 2026 Bill is the latest link in this chain of ordinary-law amendments, and its passage will make 37 (36 judges plus the CJI) the highest-ever sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court.
Article 123 — Ordinance Route Preceding the Bill
Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session, provided the President is satisfied that circumstances require immediate action. An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament but is temporary and must be placed before Parliament on reassembly.
Key Details
- An ordinance ceases to operate six weeks after Parliament reassembles unless replaced by an Act, or earlier if both Houses pass resolutions disapproving it.
- Where the two Houses are summoned to reassemble on different dates, the six-week period runs from the later date.
- The maximum theoretical life of an ordinance (gap between sessions plus the six-week window) is about six months and six weeks.
- The Union Cabinet had approved the increase in Supreme Court judge strength in May 2026, which was implemented via ordinance before the Monsoon Session bill formally replaces it with a permanent Act.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 converts the May 2026 ordinance into a permanent amendment to the 1956 Act, illustrating the standard ordinance-to-Act legislative pathway under Article 123.
Parliamentary Disruption and Loss of Legislative Time
Sustained disruption of proceedings — through protests, sloganeering, and adjournments — is a recurring feature of Indian parliamentary sessions and directly affects the constitutional expectation that Parliament sit and transact business regularly under Article 85 (summoning of sessions).
Key Details
- The Constitution does not fix a minimum number of sitting days for Parliament, unlike some other democracies; convention requires that the gap between two sessions not exceed six months (relevant to the Article 123 ordinance timeline above).
- Bills introduced amid disruption can still be validly introduced and referred, since "introduction" of a Bill is a formal motion that does not require detailed debate.
- Loss of sitting days affects the time available for Bills, Zero Hour, and Question Hour, all of which are procedural devices of legislative accountability rather than constitutional mandates.
Despite disruptions consuming the first two days, the government business of introducing and taking up the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill proceeded on Day 3, showing that formal legislative business can continue even when substantive debate is curtailed.
- Current sanctioned strength before the 2026 Bill: 33 judges (excluding CJI), fixed in 2019.
- Proposed sanctioned strength under the 2026 Bill: 37 judges (excluding CJI) — an increase of four.
- Original constitutional ceiling under Article 124(1) in 1950: 7 judges plus the CJI (total 8).
- Governing ordinary legislation: Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, previously amended in 1960, 1977, 1986, 2008, and 2019.
- Type of majority required to pass the 2026 Bill: simple majority (ordinary law under Article 124(1), not a constitutional amendment).
- Ordinance preceding the Bill: promulgated by the President in May 2026 under Article 123, with a maximum validity of six weeks after Parliament's reassembly unless replaced by an Act.