New Delhi: The central government at its meeting on Tuesday approved increasing the strength of judges from 33 to 37 (except the Chief Justice of India), six years after it was increased from 31 to 33.The government said the move was aimed at strengthening Supreme CourtThe aim is to ensure speedy justice as there are more than 92 thousand cases pending before the Supreme Court.The Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Modi approved the proposal to introduce the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 to increase the strength.The Constitution leaves the size of the Supreme Court open. Article 124(1) provides for the Chief Justice of India and allows Parliament to determine the number of other judges through legislation.That number has been revised from time to time to keep pace with rising cases. The first such change came with the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, which fixed the number of judges at 10, apart from the Chief Justice. Later in 1960 it was increased to 13 and in 1977 to 17. Despite this, the workforce remained limited to 15 for a period until 1979, when the restriction was lifted following a request by the Chief Justice.Further expansion took place over the decades. The approved number was increased to 25 in 1986 and to 30 in 2008. The most recent amendment came in 2019, when Parliament increased the number of judges from 30 to 33, excluding the Chief Justice of India.These periodic increases reflect an effort to align the court’s capacity with the ever-increasing backlog, even as questions remain over whether increasing the bench strength can address delays in justice delivery.