Rajya Sabha clears Bill to increase number of Supreme Court judges

The Rajya Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill even as the Opposition members walked out before the voting on the Bill. The Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday (August 5, 2026), is a Money Bill, and the Upper House returned it to the Lower House after a discussion. The Bill increases the number of Supreme Court judges to 37 from the present strength of 34.

The Bill replaces an Ordinance issued by the government in May. Opposition members questioned the “hurry” for bringing the Ordinance. “Why was this not brought as an Act straight to Parliament, have a debate and then amend it? Who would oppose? Nobody is opposing that judges should not be increased. But is it enough? Is it radical enough to change the situation in the country? Are 95,000 cases going to be decided because of these four judges?” asked Congress MP and senior lawyer Vivek Tankha, who initiated the debate.

When Mr. Tankha mentioned the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, Deputy Chairman Harivansh objected and asked him to speak on the subject. The Opposition members started raising slogans, which later led to their walking out of the House after a brief period.

BJP MP Sangeeta Yadav said the increase in the number of MPs will help in addressing the issue of pendency of cases. Ms. Yadav said about 64 lakh cases are pending in various courts in the country and the Narendra Modi government is committed to address the problem. Trinamool Congress MP Menaka Guruswamy said there are 30% vacancies in all the High Courts. “Women constitute only 14% of all the High Court judges! The reality is that the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the women together make up under 20% of the judiciary. Between 2018 to 2026, this government appointed just 3% Scheduled Caste judges, 2% Scheduled Tribe judges and 12% OBC judges,” she said.

DMK MP R. Girirajan said a single dominant caste holds a large majority of positions in the higher judiciary. He added that roughly 76% to 80% of the High Court judges, appointed in recent years, belong to upper caste general categories, while marginalised groups remain severely unrepresented. Indian Union Muslim League MP Haris Beeran demanded a structural change in the judicial system. Mr. Beeran demanded that the salary of judges should be hiked and the retirement age of Supreme Court judges should also be increased. He walked out of the House soon after making a brief speech.

Answering the discussion, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said the increase in judges in the Supreme Court is a step to improve judicial efficiency. “We will adopt an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism using arbitration, mediation and conciliation to help reduce the pendency in cases,” Mr. Meghwal said, adding that the Union government is committed to working in coordination with the judiciary in this regard.

In a brief intervention, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rijiju said the appointment notifications are done by the government, but the names are decided by the Collegium of the apex court. “If the Collegium does not send names from SC or ST, the government on its own cannot appoint anyone from SC or ST,” he added.

The Bill was later passed with a voice vote.