Now Reading: Rajya Sabha clears bill raising Supreme Court judge strength to 38
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Rajya Sabha clears bill raising Supreme Court judge strength to 38
By voice vote, the Rajya Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, confirming an ordinance that had already raised the court's sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges,…
By voice vote, the Rajya Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, confirming an ordinance that had already raised the court's sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges, the Lok Sabha had cleared the bill without debate on Monday, and as a Money Bill it now returns there following the Upper House's clearance, the Times of India reported. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal defended the increase as a way to help clear pending cases and give the Chief Justice more room to constitute Constitution Benches, pointing to the Chief Justice's own letter to the prime minister, rising case filings, growing pendency and the demands of the nine-judge Sabarimala bench. Neither an appointment timeline for the four new posts nor independent data on how much the change is likely to reduce the court's backlog is given.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Four extra sanctioned posts only translate into faster case disposal if they are filled quickly and the court's supporting infrastructure, registries, courtrooms, staff, expands alongside them, and Times of India's account gives no sense of either timeline. Meghwal's justification rests on the Chief Justice's own letter and cited pressures like the Sabarimala bench, both real but not independently quantified here, and no opposition, judicial or outside expert view of the increase is on record. The appointments that follow the bill's passage, and how quickly they are made, will show whether the four extra posts change anything.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
