Politics
Archived — This article has been archived. The information may be outdated.
Parliament raises Supreme Court judges count from 34 to 38
The Hindu··4 Aug
The Lok Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, raising the court's sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges including the Chief Justice, replacing an earlier ordinance issued earlier this year. The bill passed by voice vote without debate amid opposition protests over unrelated issues, and now moves to the Rajya Sabha for consideration.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Litigants with pending Supreme Court cases can hope for gradually faster hearings once the additional judgeships are filled.
- Citizens can track how quickly the Rajya Sabha clears the bill and how soon actual appointments follow.
- Anyone following judicial reform can note this is only the second such increase in the court's history since 1956.
What's Happening
- The Lok Sabha passed a bill raising the Supreme Court's sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges.
- The bill passed by voice vote without debate, replacing an earlier ordinance, and now awaits Rajya Sabha approval.
- The government cited a growing backlog of pending cases as the reason for expanding the bench's capacity.
Why More Judges Haven't Always Meant Faster Justice
- The court's strength was last raised from 31 to 34 judges in 2019, its first increase since 1956 rules.
- Vacancies have historically persisted even after Parliament raises the sanctioned ceiling, slowing the practical impact of such increases.
- Appointments to the new posts will follow separately through the judicial appointments process once the bill becomes law.
all-newseditors-picks
