From eight Judges to thirty-four: the Supreme Court's sanctioned strength and what a Constitution Bench is

Background

Article 124 of the Constitution states that there shall be a Supreme Court of India, and the Court came into existence on 26 January 1950 with the coming into force of the Constitution. The original Constitution of 1950 envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 7 puisne Judges, leaving it to Parliament to increase this number. Considering the increase in workload, Parliament increased the number of Judges from 8 in 1950 to 11 in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978, 26 in 1986, 31 in 2009 and 34 in 2019. The Supreme Court accordingly comprises the Chief Justice of India and not more than 33 other Judges appointed by the President of India. In the early years all the Judges sat together to hear cases. Today the Judges sit in Benches of two and three and come together in larger Benches of 5 and more — a Constitution Bench — to decide any conflicting decisions between benches of the Supreme Court or any substantial questions concerning the interpretation of the Constitution. The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English, and its practice and procedure are regulated by the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.