Question

Who has the sole power to increase or decrease the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India?

• A. The Parliament of India
• B. Prime Minister of India
• C. The President of India
• D. The Supreme Court of India

Hint:

Remember: \[ \text{Appointment of Judges} \rightarrow \text{President} \] \[ \text{Number of Judges} \rightarrow \text{Parliament} \] Article 124(1) gives Parliament the power to determine the strength of the Supreme Court.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understand the issue.
The Constitution creates the Supreme Court but does not fix its number of judges forever.

Step 2: Find the provision.
Article 124(1) says the Court has the Chief Justice and as many other judges as Parliament may by law decide.

Step 3: See how it works in practice.
Parliament passes the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act to raise the strength when the workload grows. In 2019 it raised the figure from 31 to 34.

Step 4: Rule out the others.
The Prime Minister cannot change it alone, the President only appoints judges, and the Court itself cannot change its own sanctioned strength by law.

Answer: The Parliament of India (Option 1).