Examine how Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary each share in determining the strength and composition of the Supreme Court.

Article 124 sets up the Supreme Court but splits control over it. Parliament decides how many judges it has, while the Executive and the Collegium together decide who they are. The 2026 expansion to a sanctioned strength of 38 shows all three at work.

Parliament: Fixes the Strength

• Under Art. 124(1), Parliament sets the number of judges by an ordinary law, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. No constitutional amendment is needed.
• The 2026 Amendment raised the number of judges (excluding the CJI) from 33 to 37. It passed Lok Sabha on 3 August and Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2026 [2].
• Judges' salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India [1]. Parliament can discuss them but cannot vote them down, which protects judicial independence.

Executive: Starts the Process and Appoints

• The Union Cabinet proposed the increase to tackle backlog and to allow more regular Constitution Benches [1].
• Ordinance route (Art. 123): the President first raised the strength by an ordinance on 16 May 2026, which the Act later replaced [2]. This let the Executive act before Parliament did.
• The President appoints judges by warrant. The Centre notified the three new judges on 5 October 2026 [3]. It can also return a Collegium name once for reconsideration.

Judiciary: Shapes Composition

• Since the Second (1993) and Third (1998) Judges Cases, the Collegium has had the final say. It kept this primacy after the NJAC was struck down in 2015.
• On 28 September 2026 it recommended three High Court Chief Justices: Sunita Agarwal, D.K. Upadhyay and A.K. Singh. This raised working strength to 37 of 38 [3].
• It also decides the Court's structure. The Full Court rejected the Law Commission's 229th Report proposal for regional Cassation Benches in February 2010 [4].

Parliament ──(fixes number)──► Cabinet/President ◄──(names)── Collegium
                                     │
                          Notification ► Oath before CJI

Fig.: How the three organs interlock

Assessment

• Strengths: Parliament controls how many judges there are, the Judiciary controls who they are, and the Executive connects the two. This protects judicial independence, which is part of the basic structure.
• Gaps: posts sanctioned in May stayed vacant until October. Pendency is close to one lakh cases [3]. Collegium choices remain opaque; for example, two of the three new judges came from the Allahabad High Court.

In short, Parliament sets the Court's size, the Judiciary picks its judges, and the Executive turns both decisions into appointments. A finalised Memorandum of Procedure with fixed timelines, published Collegium criteria and regular reviews of strength against pendency would make this system work better. That would help deliver the timely justice promised under Article 21.