President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026, increasing the sanctioned strength of judges of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The legislation, which gives statutory effect to the increase in the Court's sanctioned strength, follows its passage by Parliament. The increase comes at a time when the Supreme Court is dealing with a substantial inflow of cases and an expanding Constitution Bench workload. The CJI consequently proposed an increase in the sanctioned strength of judges. Following the CJI's communication, the Union Government promulgated an ordinance on May 17 to raise the strength.