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File image of Indian Supreme Court (Photo: @airnewsalerts/X)

New Delhi, May 17: In a significant move to enhance the judicial framework and reduce the backlog of legal cases, President Droupadi Murmu has enacted an ordinance that raises the authorized number of judges in the Supreme Court of India from 33 to 37.

This amendment will bring the total number of judges in the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI), to 38.

Currently, the Supreme Court operates with 32 judges, excluding the CJI.

Legal news outlets Live Law and Bar and Bench report that the ordinance modifies Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, changing the previous figure of 33 to 37.

A gazette notification from the Union Ministry of Law and Justice confirmed that the President approved this amendment following the Union Cabinet's endorsement of the proposal on May 5.

Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, stated that the ordinance aims to bolster the judicial capacity of the Supreme Court.

“The President has approved the increase in the Supreme Court's judge count from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India, through The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026,” Meghwal shared on social media.

Earlier, CJI Surya Kant emphasized the need for the judiciary to operate continuously, akin to hospitals, to meet the “pain and aspirations” of the public and ensure timely justice.

According to Article 124 of the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of India and a number of judges as determined by Parliament.

Article 124(1) specifies, “There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges.”

This increase marks the first adjustment in the Supreme Court's judge count since 2019, when it was raised from 30 to 33, excluding the CJI.

Historical records from Bar and Bench indicate that the Supreme Court's judge strength was initially increased in 1956 to 11, including the Chief Justice. It was later raised to 14 in 1960 and to 18 in 1977.

Although the Cabinet limited the effective strength to 15 judges until the end of 1979, this restriction was lifted following a request from the then Chief Justice of India.

The authorized strength was subsequently increased from 18 to 26 in 1986 and from 26 to 31 in 2009, before the latest revision in 2019.