Prime Minister participated virtually in the 21st Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and through video-message in the Joint SCO-CSTO Outreach Session on Afghanistan.

The 21st meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held on 17 September 2021 in Dushanbe in hybrid format.  

The meeting was chaired by H.E. Emomali Rahmon, the President of Tajikistan.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Summit via video-link.  At Dushanbe, India was represented by External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar.  

In his address, Prime Minister highlighted the problems caused by growing radicalisation and extremism in the broader SCO region, which runs counter to the history of the region as a bastion of moderate and progressive cultures and values.  

He noted that recent developments in Afghanistan could further exacerbate this trend towards extremism.

He suggested that SCO could work on an agenda to promote moderation and scientific and rational thought, which would be especially relevant for the youth of the region.  

He also spoke about India's experience of using digital technologies in its development programmes, and offered to share these open-source solutions with other SCO members.

While speaking about the importance of building connectivity in the region, Prime Minister stressed that connectivity projects should be transparent, participatory and consultative, in order to promote mutual trust.  

The SCO Summit was followed by an Outreach session on Afghanistan between SCO and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).  Prime Minister participated in the outreach session through a video-message.


In the video message, Prime Minister suggested that SCO could develop a code of conduct on 'zero tolerance' towards terrorism in the region, and highlighted the risks of drugs, arms and human trafficking from Afghanistan.  Noting the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, he reiterated India's solidarity with the Afghan people.

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Cabinet approves increase in the Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India by Four to 37 from 33
May 05, 2026

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today has approved the proposal for introducing The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament to amend The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 for increasing the number of Judges of the Supreme Court of India by 4 from the present 33 to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice of India).

Point-wise details:

Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 provides for increasing the number of Judges of the Supreme Court by 04 i.e. from 33 to 37 (excluding the Chief Justice of India).

Major Impact:

The increase in the number of Judges will allow Supreme Court to function more efficiently and effectively ensuring speedy justice.

Expenditure:

The expenditure on salary of Judges and supporting staff and other facilities will be met from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Background:

Article 124 (1) in Constitution of India inter-alia provided “There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges…”.

An act to increase the Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India was enacted in 1956 vide The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1956. Section 2 of the Act provided for the maximum number of Judges (excluding the Chief Justice of India) to be 10.

The Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India was increased to 13 by The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1977. The working strength of the Supreme Court of India was, however, restricted to 15 Judges by the Cabinet, excluding the Chief Justice of India, till the end of 1979, when the restriction was withdrawn at the request of the Chief Justice of India.

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986 further augmented the Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India, excluding the Chief Justice of India, from 17 to 25. Subsequently, The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2008 further augmented the Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India from 25 to 30.

The Judge strength of the Supreme Court of India was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the Chief Justice of India) by further amending the original act vide The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019.