New Delhi, May 17 -- The Union government on Saturday notified an ordinance increasing the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI), paving the way for the appointment of four additional judges amid rising pendency and growing calls for more constitution benches.

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026 received President Droupadi Murmu's assent and was published in the Gazette of India on Saturday. The ordinance amends Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 by substituting the word "thirty-three" with "thirty-seven".

The ordinance was promulgated under Article 123 of the Constitution since Parliament is currently not in sessio...