In a significant step aimed at strengthening the judiciary, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to enhance the total number of judges in the Supreme Court from 34 to 38, inclusive of the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the top court currently functions with 33 judges alongside the CJI. The government plans to introduce a Bill in the upcoming session of Parliament to formally amend the law and add four more judges to the court’s sanctioned strength.

Once Parliament clears the proposed amendment, the Supreme Court’s total strength will rise to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice.

The strength of the apex court has been revised multiple times since independence. The original Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 had capped the number of judges—excluding the CJI—at 10. Over the decades, successive amendments gradually expanded the bench in response to rising case volumes and judicial workload.

In 1960, the number was increased to 13, and later to 17 through further legislative changes. A major expansion came in 1986, when the sanctioned strength was raised from 17 to 25 judges (excluding the CJI).

Subsequent amendments continued this trend. In 2009, the number was increased from 25 to 30. Most recently, in 2019, Parliament approved an expansion from 30 to 33 judges, again excluding the Chief Justice of India.

The proposed increase to 38 judges marks the latest effort to bolster the Supreme Court’s capacity amid a growing docket of cases and increasing demands on the judicial system.