Centre introduces Bill to raise strength of judges in Supreme Court to 38

📌 Summary:

• The Union government introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha on July 20, 2026 to raise the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38

• The Bill replaces the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated in May 2026

• Excluding the Chief Justice of India, the sanctioned strength rises from 33 to 37 judges

• Stated rationale: mounting backlog of pending cases before the Supreme Court

• Constitutional basis: Article 124(1) fixes the Supreme Court's composition as the CJI plus such number of other judges as Parliament may by law prescribe — so raising the strength requires an Act of Parliament, not a constitutional amendment

• Since the Bill replaces an ordinance, it must be passed within six weeks of Parliament reassembling or the ordinance lapses (Article 123)

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (Judiciary — structure and functioning, judicial pendency and reform; ordinance-making power of the Executive). Connects two exam-favourite threads: the pendency crisis and the constitutional propriety of legislating by ordinance.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Sanctioned strength rising from 34 to 38 (33 to 37 excluding the CJI)

• The Bill replaces the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated in May 2026

• Article 124(1): Supreme Court to consist of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament prescribes a larger number, not more than seven other judges

• The Supreme Court began in 1950 with a strength of 8 (CJI + 7)

• Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session

🔑 Key Term: Ordinance — a temporary law promulgated by the President under Article 123 when Parliament is not in session; it has the same force as an Act but must be laid before both Houses and ceases to operate six weeks after reassembly unless replaced by legislation.