Supreme Court Strength Expanded from 34 to 38 Judges: Ordinance Route, Article 124, and What CLAT 2027 Aspirants Must Know

Constitutional Framework

• Article 124(1): There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice and, until Parliament prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges.
• Article 124(2): Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts as the President may deem necessary.
• Article 123: Power of President to promulgate Ordinances when Parliament is not in session — must be laid before both Houses within six weeks of reassembly, else ceases to operate.
• Parent statute amended: Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 — previously amended in 1960, 1977, 1986, 2008 and 2019.
• Collegium jurisprudence: Second Judges Case, SCAORA v. Union of India (1993); Third Judges Case (1998); NJAC struck down in SCAORA v. Union of India (2015).
• Ordinance abuse doctrine: DC Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (1987) and Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar (2017, 7-Judge) — re-promulgation is a fraud on the Constitution.

CLAT Angle

CLAT examiners love overlaps. This story sits at the intersection of Polity, Legal Reasoning and Current Affairs. Expect a passage on the Ordinance route, followed by an inference question on whether the Centre could re-promulgate the Ordinance if Parliament fails to enact it. Expect a parallel question on whether the executive’s role in deciding the number of judges (statutory) is constitutionally distinct from the Collegium’s role in selecting who the judges are (constitutional convention). A trap option will conflate Art. 124(2) consultation with Art. 124(2A) — only the latter deals with composition rules.

Key Facts at a Glance

Mnemonic — Remember It Forever

FROM 34 TO 38 — “Four Republic-Old Memories”: Murmu’s Ordinance, May 16, 2026.

Four new seats. Republic-old means India’s republic origin year (1956 — the parent Act). Murmu signed. Mid-May. Memorise the chain: 16-May-2026 → Ord. → 1956 Act → 38.

Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions

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