The number of puisne judges (judges other than the Chief Justice) envisaged for the Supreme Court in the original Constitution was:

The original Constitution provided for a Supreme Court consisting of the Chief Justice of India and not more than seven other judges, so there were to be seven puisne judges.

Meaning of puisne judge:

• "Puisne" (pronounced "puny") means junior or lower in rank.
• A puisne judge is any judge of a court other than the Chief Justice.

Power to increase the number:

• Article 124(1) allows Parliament to increase the number of judges by law.
• Parliament has increased the number of judges several times through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 and its amendments.

Present strength:

• The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019 increased the number of judges, other than the Chief Justice, to 33.
• So the total sanctioned strength is now 34, including the Chief Justice.

Why the number was increased:

• The workload of the Supreme Court increased greatly over the years because of the growth of litigation, writ petitions, special leave petitions and public interest litigation.
• More judges were needed to reduce delays and the backlog of cases.

First judges of the Supreme Court:

When the Supreme Court began on 28 January 1950, it had Chief Justice H.J. Kania and five other judges, fewer than the maximum allowed.

Benches:

• The Supreme Court usually sits in benches of two or three judges.
• Constitution Benches of at least five judges hear cases involving substantial questions of constitutional law, as required by Article 145(3).
• Larger benches of seven, nine, eleven or thirteen judges have been formed in landmark cases.

Appointment of judges:

Judges are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗5, 10 and 13 do not match the original number of puisne judges.