On Tuesday, the Union Cabinet of India approved a proposal to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India. This decision comes in response to the growing backlog of over 92,000 pending cases, highlighting the need for greater judicial capacity. The Supreme Court had initially requested an increase to 43 judges, but the Cabinet's decision will be enacted through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which will soon be introduced in Parliament. The Law Ministry emphasized that the increase aims to improve efficiency and expedite justice delivery amid rising case pendency. The court's strength has been revised multiple times since the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, which originally set the limit at 10 judges. This is the first adjustment in the court's size in seven years, reflecting the need to address the increasingly complex caseload facing the judiciary.