Cabinet approves increase in the Judge strength of SC to 37
Background
- Article 124 (1) of Constitution of India provided “There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India (CJI) and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges.”
- To increase the Court’s strength, Parliament enacted the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, raising the number of judges (excluding the CJI) from 7 to 10. Subsequently, the sanctioned strength was increased to 13 in 1960 and to 17 in 1977 through amendments to the Act.
- The working strength of the Court was, however, restricted to 15 Judges by the Cabinet, excluding the Chief Justice of India, till the end of 1979, when the restriction was withdrawn at the request of the Chief Justice of India.
- Thereafter, the strength of the Court was progressively expanded: from 17 to 25 judges in 1986, from 25 to 30 in 2008, and from 30 to 33 in 2019.
Why in News?
- The Union Cabinet has approved the introduction of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament.
- The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 for increasing the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 33 to 37 judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India.