New Delhi, May 6 -- The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared a proposal to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a bill will be brought in the next session of Parliament to raise the apex court's strength by four judges.

The sanctioned strength of the top court is 34 judges, including the CJI. At present, the apex court has two vacancies.

Once the bill is cleared by Parliament and is enacted, the sanctioned number of Supreme Court judges will stand at 38.

The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the Chief Justice of India) in 2019.

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956, as original...