For Nearly Seventy Years the Supreme Court Had 34 Judges. It Now Has 38. The Reason Is a Backlog Measured in the Tens of Thousands.
By Squirrels·
Four More Judges. One Overwhelmed Court.
The Supreme Court of India will now sit with 38 judges instead of 34. President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026, raising the sanctioned strength of the country’s apex court.
The change is small in number and large in intent: four additional seats — lifting the count of puisne judges (every judge other than the Chief Justice) from 33 to 37 — aimed at a case pile-up that has grown faster than the court can clear it.
How It Happened
The CJI’s Letter
The move began with a letter. On May 11, 2026, the Chief Justice of India wrote to the Prime Minister pointing to the rising inflow of cases and the need to protect the court’s daily disposal rate.
The Ordinance
The government did not wait for Parliament. In May 2026, President Murmu promulgated the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance — lifting the strength to 38 on an interim basis while the legislation caught up.
The Bill
The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on August 3, 2026; the Rajya Sabha considered and returned it. With the President’s assent, the ordinance became permanent law, amending the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act of 1956.
Why It Matters
The Supreme Court is one of the busiest apex courts in the world, carrying a pendency measured in the tens of thousands of cases. More judges mean more benches, and more benches mean more matters heard in parallel.
Critics note the deeper bottleneck is not only numbers but process — how quickly the Collegium recommends names and how quickly the government clears them. An expanded sanctioned strength only helps if the new seats are actually filled.
What Happens Next
With the strength now at 38, attention turns to the Collegium, which is expected to begin deliberations on filling the additional seats. The test of the amendment will not be the number on paper — it will be how fast those four chairs are occupied, and whether the backlog finally starts to fall.