Rajya Sabha passes bill to increase number of SC judges, returns it to Lok Sabha
The Rajya Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 and returned it to the Lok Sabha, completing the bill's passage through Parliament
The Bill raises the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38 (including the Chief Justice of India) — an addition of four judges
The Bill formally replaces an Ordinance that had been promulgated on 17 May 2026 to bring the increase into immediate effect
The Lok Sabha had already passed the Bill on 3 August 2026; it now awaits Presidential assent to become an Act
The increase followed a formal recommendation from the Chief Justice of India to the government citing rising case pendency and the strain of constituting large Constitution Benches
Article 123 — Ordinance-Making Power and Why a Bill Was Needed
Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate an Ordinance when Parliament is not in session and immediate action is considered necessary. An Ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament but is inherently temporary — it must be replaced by a regular law within a fixed constitutional window, or it lapses.
Key Details
- An Ordinance must be laid before both Houses when Parliament reassembles and ceases to operate six weeks from the date of reassembly, unless both Houses pass a Bill converting it into an Act (or disapprove it earlier by resolution)
- Where the two Houses are summoned to reassemble on different dates, the six-week period runs from the later date
- An Ordinance cannot make any provision that Parliament itself would be constitutionally incompetent to enact
- The President's ordinance power (Art. 123) has a parallel at the state level for Governors under Article 213
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 is the constitutionally mandated legislative replacement for the 17 May 2026 Ordinance that first raised the judge count — without Parliament passing this Bill within the six-week window after reassembly, the increase in sanctioned strength would have lapsed.
Ordinary Bill Procedure — Rajya Sabha's Role and "Return" of a Bill
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill is an ordinary (non-Money) Bill, so it must be passed in identical form by both Houses of Parliament before going to the President for assent — unlike a Money Bill, where the Rajya Sabha's role is only recommendatory.
Key Details
- Articles 107 and 108 govern the introduction and passage of ordinary Bills; either House may originate such a Bill (Money Bills, under Article 109, can only originate in the Lok Sabha)
- If the Rajya Sabha passes an ordinary Bill without amendments, it is "returned" to the Lok Sabha as a formal step confirming both Houses have approved an identical text, after which it goes to the President under Article 111
- If the Rajya Sabha does amend the Bill, the amended version must go back to the Lok Sabha for concurrence — disagreement between the Houses on an ordinary Bill can trigger a joint sitting under Article 108, a mechanism not available for Money Bills
- Under Article 111, the President may assent, withhold assent, or (for non-Money Bills) return the Bill once for reconsideration — but must assent if Parliament passes it again
Because the Supreme Court judges Bill is an ordinary Bill (an amendment to a plain statute, not the Constitution), its "return" by the Rajya Sabha to the Lok Sabha is a standard step in bicameral passage, distinct from the special majority and state-ratification requirements that apply to constitutional amendment Bills.
Article 124(1) and the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956
Article 124(1) establishes the Supreme Court as consisting of the Chief Justice of India and, "until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number," not more than seven other judges. This leaves the actual sanctioned strength to ordinary parliamentary legislation rather than a constitutional amendment.
Key Details
- The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 is the ordinary law Parliament uses to fix and periodically raise this ceiling; only a simple majority in each House is required, unlike the special majority needed under Article 368 for constitutional amendments
- The Act's Section 2 was amended to raise the number of judges (excluding the CJI) from 33 to 37, taking the total sanctioned strength (including the CJI) to 38
- Sanctioned strength has been raised roughly eight times since 1950 (8 → 11 → 14 → 18 → 26 → 31 → 34 → 38), most recently before this round in 2019 (31 to 34)
- Filling the new posts still follows the collegium system for appointments and Article 124(2) for the formal appointment process; raising the ceiling does not by itself appoint anyone
The Rajya Sabha's passage completes the ordinary legislative process needed to permanently convert the temporary Ordinance-based increase into a standing amendment to the 1956 Act.
- New sanctioned Supreme Court strength: 38 (1 CJI + 37 judges), up from 34 (1 CJI + 33 judges)
- Ordinance promulgated: 17 May 2026, under Article 123
- Lok Sabha passage: 3 August 2026; Rajya Sabha passage/return: 5 August 2026
- Status after Rajya Sabha passage: awaiting Presidential assent under Article 111
- Governing statute: Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, Section 2
- Constitutional basis for Parliament's power to fix strength: Article 124(1)
- Previous increase: 2019, from 31 to 34 (including CJI)