New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, raising the sanctioned strength of judges in the top court from 34 to 38, including the Chief Justice of India. The Bill, passed by a voice vote, replaces an ordinance promulgated in May and comes amid a mounting "backlog" of cases before the court. Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Bill amid Opposition protests. The Bill states that the persistent gap between institution and disposal of cases has made "docket management" increasingly difficult, particularly for older pending matters and cases needing larger benches. The Supreme Court's sanctioned strength has been revised several times since 1950, when the court began with eight judges, including the Chief Justice of India. It was raised to 31 in 2008 and to 34 in 2019. The government now proposes taking it to 38. According to a written reply by Meghwal in Parliament, more than 96,000 cases are currently pending in the Supreme Court, with 26 cases unresolved for over 30 years and 558 pending for more than two decades....