In line with the intent expressed by the CJI in November last year, the government has approved a draft bill, named the Supreme Court Number of Judges Amendment Bill – 2026, to raise the number of judges from 33 to 37, excluding the chief justice.

Currently, a whopping 92,828 pending cases, including over 60,000 civil matters, are pending before the Supreme Court and an increase in the number of judges in the apex court is primarily aimed at addressing the pendency issue, said Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while briefing the media on the Union Cabinet’s decision.   

“The increase in the number of judges will allow the Supreme Court to function more efficiently and effectively, ensuring speedy justice,” he said.

The government later said in an official statement, “The Union Cabinet approved the Supreme Court Number of Judges Amendment Bill - 2026, which seeks to amend the 1956 Act governing judicial strength.”

The approved amendment bill would now be introduced in Parliament during the next Monsoon Session, which is expected to be convened in June or July later this year.

The Minister also noted that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, “the number of judges in the Supreme Court has increased by almost 50 percent”.

Even as the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court was increased to 30 from 25 - excluding the CJI - in 2009, the additional positions were not fully filled till 2019. The last revision took place in 2019, when the number was raised to 33 from 30, excluding the CJI. So effectively the Narendra Modi government is going to increase the number of Judges of the Supreme Court for the second time.   

The Next Step

As per the Constitution, Article 124(1) empowers Parliament to determine the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court. The bill will now require parliamentary approval to amend the 1956 Act. Once the amended law takes effect, the Supreme Court collegium will recommend names to the government to fill the increased positions in the apex court.

Currently, the Supreme Court has an active strength of 31 judges against the sanctioned positions of 33, excluding the CJI, with two vacancies. The positions became vacant after B.R. Gavai retired as the chief justice, demitting office in November, and Justice Rajesh Bindal in April.

It is to be noted here that if the bill is passed, the collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant may be required to recommend at least nine appointments to fill existing and possible vacancies and the newly created positions. Kant’s tenure ends in February 2027.

When the Supreme Court was created in 1950, it had only eight judges, including the chief justice.

An Upward Trend

As per official data, by the end of January 2026, the Supreme Court recorded an overall 92,828 cases pending with it, which is an increase of 510 cases from December 2025 and the number is a record increase of 10,383 cases since January 2025.

In July 2025, the Court returned from the summer break with 87,115 pending cases. By the end of the month, pendency had increased to 88,047 cases. This upward trend continued until the end of the year, with a steep rise in both October and December 2025.

Notably, the Court underwent a change in leadership when Chief Justice Gavai retired in November 2025. During his six-month tenure, pendency reached its highest point for the first time since 1993.

This figure is nearly equal to the total rise (of 10,431 cases) over two years between 2020-2022, when the Court functioned at limited capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is higher than the increase of 8,299 cases in 2023.

Constitution Bench Pendency

The data revealed that 25 Constitution Bench cases are pending before the Supreme Court as of January 2026. The corresponding figure for January 2025 was 33.

While the figures for seven and nine judge benches have remained unchanged since October 2025, the number of five judge benches increased by two in December 2025.