New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu on Sunday approved the decision of the Union Cabinet to increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court from 33 to 38, including judges. Chief Justice of India. In a post on X, Meghwal said the ordinance amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, increasing the number of judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India. The decision has been taken after approval by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 5.The government said the extension is aimed at strengthening the apex court and ensuring speedy justice at a time when over 92,000 cases are pending before the Supreme Court. The Cabinet had approved the proposal to introduce the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament to formalize the increase.Also read: The number of judges will be increased from 33 to 37.Under Article 124(1) of the Constitution, Parliament has the power to determine the number of judges of the Supreme Court through law. The court’s powers have been amended several times over the past decades in response to increasing litigation.The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 initially fixed the number of judges at 10, apart from the Chief Justice. Later it was reduced to 13 in 1960, 17 in 1977, 25 in 1986 and 30 in 2008. The last amendment came in 2019, when Parliament increased the number of judges from 30 to 33, excluding the Chief Justice of India.