Act 011 of 2009 : Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2008

Preamble

Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 20081

[Act 11 of 2009][5th February, 2009]

[Repealed by Act 19 of 2015*]

An Act further to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1 Received the assent of the President on 5-2-2009 and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 1, dated 6-2-2009, p. 1, No. 14.

* Ed.: Act 11 of 2009 repealed by Act 19 of 2015, S. 2 & Sch. I. See also S. 4 of the Repealing and Amending Act, 2015:

"4. Savings.- The repeal by this Act of any enactment shall not affect any Act in which such enactment has been applied, incorporated or referred to;

and this Act shall not affect the validity, invalidity, effect or consequences of anything already done or suffered, or any right, title, obligation or liability already acquired, accrued or incurred, or any remedy or proceeding in respect thereof, or any release or discharge of or from any debt, penalty, obligation, liability, claim or demand, or any indemnity already granted, or the proof of any past act or thing;

nor shall this Act affect any principle or rule of law, or established jurisdiction, form or course of pleading, practice or procedure, or existing usage, custom, privilege, restriction, exemption, office or appointment, notwithstanding that the same respectively may have been in any manner affirmed, recognised or derived by, in or from any enactment hereby repealed;

nor shall the repeal by this Act of any enactment provide or restore any jurisdiction, office, custom, liability, right, title, privilege, restriction, exemption, usage, practice, procedure or other matter or thing not now existing or in force."

SOR Statement of Objects and Reasons

Prefatory Note-Statement of Objects and Reasons.-The pendency of cases in the Supreme Court of India has constantly been on the rise largely due to higher rate of institution of cases. As on the 31st day of March, 2007, 41,581 cases were pending in the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of India has intimated that the Judges in the Supreme Court feel over-burdened and have been working under acute work pressure. It has also not been possible for the Chief Justice of India to constitute a five Judge Bench on a regular basis to hear cases involving interpretation of constitutional law as doing that would result in constitution of less number of Division Benches which in turn will result in delay in hearing of other civil and criminal matters.

2. Suitable steps are, therefore, required to be taken to augment the strength of the Judges in the Supreme Court so that it can function more efficiently and effectively towards attaining the ultimate goal of rendering speedy justice to the litigant public.

3. It is, therefore, proposed to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 to increase the number of Judges in the Supreme Court from twenty-five to thirty, excluding the Chief Justice of India.

4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objective.

Section 1. Short title

1. Short title.-This Act may be called the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2008.

Section 2. Amendment of Section 2

2. Amendment of Section 2.-In Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 (55 of 1956), for the word "twenty-five", the word "thirty" shall be substituted.

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