New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Tuesday that an amendment bill approved by the cabinet to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court will boost speedy justice, provide relief to poor and remote petitioners, and expedite the resolution of constitutional matters.
Earlier, the Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the chief justice of India.
In a post on ‘X’ in Hindi, Shah said, “In a move to further streamline the country’s judicial process, the Union Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the amendment bill to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court.” “Under this, the number of judges in the Supreme Court will rise from 33 to 37. This will boost speedy justice, provide relief to poor and remote petitioners, and expedite the resolution of constitutional matters,” he said.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said a bill will be brought in the next session of Parliament to raise the apex court’s strength by four judges.
The sanctioned strength of the top court is CJI and 33 judges. At present, the apex court has two vacancies.
Once the bill is cleared by Parliament and is enacted, the sanctioned number of Supreme Court judges will increase by four.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956, as originally enacted, provided for the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) to be 10.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendation of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting with the Finance Ministry, the Department of Justice in the Law Ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill. PTI ABS KVK KVK
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