Supreme Court Judges Strength Bill and National Honour Amendment on Monsoon Session Agenda
The Lok Sabha is scheduled to consider and pass the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which replaces an ordinance that raised the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice of India)
A statutory resolution has been moved in the Lok Sabha seeking disapproval of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, which was promulgated on 16 May 2026
The Rajya Sabha is scheduled to take up the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to extend the statutory protection currently given to the National Anthem to the National Song, "Vande Mataram"
The Monsoon Session's private members' business also includes proposals relating to constitutional amendments and welfare issues, alongside the government's regular legislative agenda
Article 124(1): Composition of the Supreme Court and Parliament's Power to Fix Judge Strength
Article 124(1) of the Constitution provides that the Supreme Court shall consist of the Chief Justice of India and "such number of other judges as Parliament may by law prescribe." The Constitution itself does not fix a permanent number of judges — this is left to ordinary legislation, currently the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, which Parliament amends whenever the sanctioned strength needs to change.
The Bill before the Lok Sabha converts the ordinance's judge-strength increase into a permanent parliamentary enactment by amending Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.
Article 123: President's Ordinance-Making Power and Statutory Disapproval Resolutions
Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session and immediate legislative action is considered necessary. An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament but is temporary — it must be laid before both Houses when they reassemble and ceases to operate six weeks after reassembly unless approved, or earlier if both Houses pass resolutions disapproving it.
The Bill before Parliament is the constitutionally required follow-up to convert the ordinance into a permanent Act; the statutory resolution being moved alongside it is the separate procedural route available to seek its disapproval before that happens.
Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971: Scope and the Proposed Amendment
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 penalises disrespect to the National Flag, the Constitution of India, and the National Anthem. Section 3 specifically penalises intentional prevention of the singing of the National Anthem or causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in such singing, with imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both. The Act currently contains no equivalent protection for the National Song, "Vande Mataram."
The Bill scheduled for introduction in the Rajya Sabha would, for the first time, place obstruction or insult to the National Song on the same statutory footing as insult to the National Anthem.
- Supreme Court sanctioned strength: raised from 33 to 37 judges (excluding CJI) by the 2026 ordinance; total strength including CJI: 38
- Ordinance promulgated under Article 123: 16 May 2026
- Article 123 ordinances lapse six weeks after Parliament reassembles unless enacted into law or earlier disapproved by both Houses
- Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 — Section 3 penalty for disrupting the National Anthem: up to three years' imprisonment, fine, or both
- National Song "Vande Mataram" and National Anthem "Jana Gana Mana" were both adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950
- Monsoon Session 2026 is scheduled to run across four weeks with 19 sittings, with numerous bills listed for consideration