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Supreme Court Judges Bill 2026: Strength Raised to 38 With CJI

8 August 20261 min read
NATIONAL AFFAIRSSupreme CourtJudges Bill 2026:Strength Raised to38 With CJI8 August 2026safalsetu.com

Why in the news

On 3 August 2026 the Lok Sabha cleared this Bill with a voice vote and no discussion, while the Opposition protested. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal piloted it.

Key facts

  • New strength: 37 judges plus the CJI, 38 in all.
  • Backlog: 92,101 cases were pending on 1 January 2026; 75,410 were filed and 65,615 disposed of in 2025.
  • Past strength with CJI: 34 in 2019, 31 in 2009, 26 in 1986, 8 in 1950.

Constitutional points

  • Article 124(3): eligibility is five years as a High Court judge, ten as a High Court advocate, or being a distinguished jurist.
  • Retirement age is 65; the NJAC was struck down in 2015.
  • Article 123 (President) and Article 213 (Governor) give ordinance powers; the D.C. Wadhwa (1987) case barred re-promulgation.

Exam angle

  • Act involved: Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.
  • Current strength: 38 including the CJI.

Test yourself

1. After the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, how many judges will the Court have, counting the CJI?

Strength moves from 34 to 38 including the CJI.

2. Which Article lets Parliament fix the Supreme Court's strength through ordinary law, so no constitutional amendment was needed for this Bill?

Article 124(1) leaves the number of judges to Parliament.

3. Which case barred the repeated re-promulgation of ordinances, as noted in the Supreme Court judges Bill notes?

The notes cite D.C. Wadhwa (1987) on re-promulgation.

This topic is part of Daily Current Affairs 3 & 4 August 2026 (13 topics).

All topics of the dayDay quizAugust 2026

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