Judges will increase in Supreme Court: Cabinet approves increase in number from 33 to 38, what did the Union Minister say?

New Delhi: The Central Government has taken a big step to reduce the burden of pending cases. The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court from 33 to 38. Last time in 2019, the number of judges was increased from 31 to 33. That means the posts are being increased again after six years.

More than 92 thousand cases pending in court 

According to media reports, the government says that this decision has been taken to strengthen the Supreme Court and speed up the justice process. Currently, more than 92 thousand cases are pending in the Supreme Court. The number of judges is being increased only to reduce this pile of cases.

Big statement of Union Minister 

Let us tell you that Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav informed that at present there is one Chief Justice and 33 judges in the Supreme Court. A bill related to this will be presented in the next session of Parliament. After the bill is passed, the total number of judges including CJI will become 38.

The number has increased like this from 1956 till now   

The Number of Judges in the Supreme Court Act 1956 initially had a provision for only 10 judges apart from the CJI. In 1960 this number became 13, then later it was increased to 17. After the amendment in 1986, the number of judges increased to 25. In 2009 it was increased to 30. In 2019 it increased from 31 to 33. Now it is proposed to increase it to 38.

What does the rule of the constitution say? 

The total number of Supreme Court judges is not fixed in the Constitution of India. Under Article 124(1), the number of judges other than the Chief Justice is decided by the Parliament. It has been changing from time to time as the burden of cases has increased.

Will the solution be found just by increasing the number of judges?   

The government believes that by increasing the number of judges, pendency will reduce and people will get justice quickly. Many legal experts have different opinions. He says that merely increasing the number of judges is not enough. The delay in justice is also due to structural deficiencies, complexity of the process and low use of technology. Work will have to be done on these also. At present, this decision of the government is being considered important in the direction of strengthening the judiciary. Now the eye is on Parliament to see when this bill is passed.