Rajya Sabha approves Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026

Parliament on Wednesday completed the passage of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, with the Rajya Sabha approving the legislation to increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the apex court to 38 from the existing 34, including the Chief Justice of India.

The bill seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated earlier to expand the Supreme Court's judicial capacity amid a growing backlog of cases.

The Lok Sabha had passed the legislation on Monday without a debate. Introducing the bill in the lower House, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the move was aimed at strengthening the judiciary by increasing the number of judges.


"After Independence, home minister GB Pant had introduced the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Bill in 1956 which fixed the number of Supreme Court judges at 11 including the Chief Justice of India... There is a growing need to increase the number of justices in the Supreme Court. With this amendment bill the number will be increased to 38 from 34. This will strengthen the judicial capacity," Meghwal had said.

The Lok Sabha cleared the bill amid repeated disruptions and opposition sloganeering, with the legislation being passed without any discussion. The bill was introduced and passed within minutes before the House was adjourned for the day.

The amendment revises the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act to raise the sanctioned strength of the apex court from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, with the government arguing that the increase is necessary to address the growing workload and improve the timely disposal of cases.