Union Cabinet Accepts Proposal To Increase Strength Of Supreme Court Judges To 37 (Excluding CJI)
Hey there, future legal eagle! Ever wondered how our judiciary keeps up with its massive workload? Well, here's some news directly related to that. So basically, the Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 38, not counting the Chief Justice of India. This will be done through a new Bill amending the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. What this really means is, with more judges, the court can tackle the huge backlog of cases faster, which aligns with the spirit of Article 21, ensuring speedy justice. It's also linked to Article 124, which deals with the establishment and composition of the Supreme Court. Bottom line for the exam, this move aims to improve judicial efficiency and access to justice.
In an important development today, the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for introducing a Bill to increase the judges' strength in the Supreme Court from 33 judges(excluding the Chief Justice of India) to 38 judges( excluding the CJI)
The Bill, Supreme Court(Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, will bring these amendments to theSupreme Court(Number of Judges) Act, 1956. In 2019, the number of judges in the Supreme Court was increased from 31 to 33(excluding the CJI).
The proposed move is being made, considering the pendency of cases. With more than four judges set to retire this year, the introduction of this Bill will bring some relief to the caseload.