Supreme Court to expand from 33 to 37 judges as backlog hits 92,101

This Bill increases the maximum number of Judges in the Supreme Court of India from thirty-three to thirty-seven (excluding the Chief Justice of India). It aims to address the rising backlog of cases and allow for the regular constitution of larger Benches to hear cases involving substantial questions of law.

The Supreme Court of India (specifically regarding the appointment of four additional Judges), the Government of India (responsible for funding salaries, staff, residences, and security), and the Chief Justice of India (who will constitute Benches).

• Amends Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 to substitute the word 'thirty-three' with 'thirty-seven'.
• Repeals the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026 (Ord. 1 of 2026).
• Deems actions taken under the repealed Ordinance to have been taken under this Act.
• Deemed to have come into force on May 16, 2026.
• Estimates recurring expenditure of approximately INR 10.57 crore per annum and non-recurring expenditure of approximately INR 3.47 crore for the four additional posts.

Written from the document by AI, and checked against it. The original below is authoritative.

The original document