President Approves Ordinance to Increase Supreme Court Judges

The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, has approved an ordinance to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court. The strength of judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India) will rise from 33 to 37. Including the Chief Justice, the total sanctioned strength will now be 38 judges.
Currently, the Supreme Court has 32 judges working, including the Chief Justice. The move comes amid a growing backlog of over 92,000 cases and calls for faster disposal of matters.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, changes the 1956 law to reflect the new strength. The ordinance was issued because Parliament is not in session. The Union Cabinet had cleared the proposal on May 5, following a request from Chief Justice Surya Kant.
The Supreme Court has gradually increased its strength over the years. It started with 8 judges in 1950 and was last expanded in 2019, from 30 to 33 judges (excluding the Chief Justice).
This expansion is expected to help the court handle more cases and allow the formation of larger benches for important legal questions. Several retirements are also expected in the coming months, which means many new appointments will be made under the current Chief Justice.