National Current Affairs
Cabinet Approves Increase in Supreme Court Judge Strength to 37
- 06 May 2026
- 2 min read
Why in News?
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court of India from 34 to 37 judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India)..
Key Points
- Article 124 of the Constitution of India: Provides for the establishment of the Supreme Court and states that the number of judges shall be determined by Parliament by law.
- Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956: Fixes the sanctioned strength of judges. The last major increase was in 2019, when the number of judges was raised from 31 to 34.
- 2026 (proposed): 37 judges
- Article 145 of the Constitution of India: Empowers the Supreme Court to frame rules for regulating its practice and procedure, including bench formation.
- Need: As of 2026, the Supreme Court has ~80,000+ pending cases, including constitutional matters and civil/criminal appeals.
- Low Judge-Population Ratio: India has about 21 judges per million population (including lower judiciary), far below countries like the USA (~100+).
- Burden of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs): Under Article 136 of the Constitution of India, a large number of appeals reach the Supreme Court, increasing workload.
- Focus on Speedy Justice:The government stated that augmenting the number of judges will enable the Supreme Court to function more effectively, reduce case backlog, and strengthen access to timely justice.
| Read More:Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 |
