New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill to increase the number of judges of the Supreme Court from the present 33 to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice) with a voice vote with Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the government is committed to independence of the judiciary.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, was passed by a voice vote after a brief discussion in the Upper House, while Opposition members staged a walkout.
The Bill, which will replace an ordinance, has already been approved by the Lok Sabha on August 3. Being a Money Bill, the Upper House returned it to the Lok Sabha.
Replying to the debate, Meghwal, who is the Minister of State for Law and Justice, said the increase in the sanctioned strength is part of the government's judicial reforms aimed at improving access to justice and reducing the backlog of cases.
He said the judiciary has witnessed a steady rise in case filings, necessitating an expansion in judicial capacity.
"A structural shift is needed to be adopted in the Supreme Court, where a need is felt to establish at least one permanent constitutional bench and two or three dedicated three-judge benches," he said.
Meghwal said questions are raised on the government for going through the ordinance route to expand the number of judges at the apex court. Replying to that, the minister said the Chief Justice, through a letter, informed the Prime Minister on May 11 about the rise in the number of daily case filings.
"He (CJI) said there is a gap of 10,000 cases per year. He said that 75,410 cases were filed and a fresh 46,988 cases were instituted. It has become necessary to have a higher daily disposal rate at the admission stage. This will only be possible when the number of judges in the Supreme Court increases," said Meghwal.
CJI had also mentioned that when the constitutional benches are established, for example, the case of Sabarimala is being heard by a nine-judge bench, the number of judges is reduced in the regular benches.
"Due to the establishment of the constitutional benches, the number of judges is reduced in the regular cases," he said adding, "the long sitting of larger benches leads to reduction in the strength of regular benches, which contributes to pendency. Therefore, increasing the number of judges has become necessary."
Meghwal said over the years, governments have taken steps to increase the number of judges. When the Supreme Court started functioning in 1950 it had eight judges, including the Chief Justice. Its strength has been increased from time to time in line with the growing workload.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.