Lok Sabha clears bill to increase number of Supreme Court judges, without debate
The Lok Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, raising the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India) from 33 to 37
Including the Chief Justice of India, the Court's total sanctioned strength rises from 34 to 38
The bill replaces the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, which had been promulgated on 16 May 2026 to bring the increase into immediate effect
The bill proceeds to the Rajya Sabha for consideration before it can be enacted
The expansion is intended to address rising case pendency and workload before the apex court
Article 124 and the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956
Article 124(1) of the Constitution establishes the Supreme Court, originally fixing its strength at the Chief Justice of India plus not more than seven other judges, "until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number." This deliberately leaves the exact strength to ordinary parliamentary legislation rather than requiring a constitutional amendment, allowing Parliament to expand the bench as caseload grows without going through the more rigid Article 368 amendment process.
Key Details
- The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, first exercised this power, fixing the strength (excluding CJI) at 10
- Subsequent amendments raised the number (excluding CJI) to 13 (1960), 17 (1977), 25 (1986), 30 (2008), and 33 (2019)
- Because Article 124(1) only prescribes a floor, not a ceiling, each increase requires only an ordinary law passed by simple majority — not a special majority under Article 368
- The Constitution does not mandate any specific judge-to-population or judge-to-case ratio; the number is a policy choice by Parliament
The 2026 Bill is the seventh such increase since 1950, using the same Article 124(1) mechanism to raise the sanctioned strength (excluding CJI) from 33 to 37.
Ordinance-Making Power (Article 123)
Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session and immediate action is considered necessary. An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament but is temporary — it must be replaced by a regular law or it lapses.
Key Details
- An ordinance ceases to operate six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament, unless both Houses pass resolutions disapproving it earlier, or it is replaced by an Act before that
- Where the two Houses are summoned to reassemble on different dates, the six-week period runs from the later date
- An ordinance cannot exceed Parliament's legislative competence, contravene Part III fundamental rights, or bypass the constitutional division of powers under the Seventh Schedule
- The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, was promulgated on 16 May 2026 to give immediate effect to the strength increase before Parliament could pass a regular law
The Bill passed by the Lok Sabha is the regular legislative replacement required to make the May 2026 ordinance's strength increase permanent; without it, the ordinance would lapse after Parliament's session.
Article 124 vs Article 216 — Why High Court Strength Works Differently
The Constitution treats the Supreme Court and the High Courts asymmetrically on judge strength. Article 124(1) caps Supreme Court expansion at a number Parliament alone can fix by law. Article 216, governing High Courts, does not fix any numerical limit at all — it simply provides that a High Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and "such other judges as the President may from time to time deem it necessary to appoint."
Key Details
- High Court judge strength is fixed by executive order of the President (in practice, based on Law Ministry assessment of pendency), not by an Act of Parliament
- Supreme Court strength can only be changed by Parliament passing an amendment to the Number of Judges Act, 1956 — the route used in 2026
- This distinction reflects the Supreme Court's singular, apex status versus the High Courts' state-specific, more frequently adjusted workload needs
- Article 214 separately mandates that there shall be a High Court for each state
The 2026 Bill illustrates why Supreme Court expansion takes a full legislative process (introduction, passage, Rajya Sabha, assent) rather than a simple executive notification — a distinction UPSC frequently tests via comparison questions.
- Pre-amendment sanctioned strength: 33 judges (excluding CJI) / 34 total (including CJI)
- Post-amendment sanctioned strength: 37 judges (excluding CJI) / 38 total (including CJI)
- Original 1950 strength: CJI + 7 judges (8 total)
- Historical increases (excluding CJI): 10 (1956) → 13 (1960) → 17 (1977) → 25 (1986) → 30 (2008) → 33 (2019) → 37 (2026)
- Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated: 16 May 2026
- Supreme Court pendency reached a three-decade high of over 93,000 cases as of March 2026, per the National Judicial Data Grid