The Constitution provides the framework for the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court.
Under:
Article 124
every judge of the Supreme Court is appointed by the:
President of India
The present appointment process, however, has evolved through constitutional interpretation and the development of the:
Collegium System
Article 124 provides for the establishment and constitution of the Supreme Court.
Under Article 124(2), judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the:
President
after consultation with constitutional authorities as provided by the Constitution.
The Constitution originally envisaged a system in which the President would appoint Supreme Court judges after consultation with:
For appointment of a judge other than the Chief Justice of India, consultation with the:
Chief Justice of India
was specifically required.
The Constitution did not originally establish the Collegium System.
The present system developed through a series of Supreme Court judgments known as the:
Judges Cases
The three important cases are:
These judgments transformed the interpretation of judicial appointments.
The Supreme Court initially held that:
The Executive had primacy
in judicial appointments.
The Court interpreted "consultation" as not meaning:
Concurrence
of the Chief Justice of India.
The judgment favoured:
Executive Primacy
in judicial appointments.
The Supreme Court reconsidered the earlier position.
It established:
Judicial Primacy
in appointments to higher judiciary.
The judgment led to the emergence of the:
Collegium System
The Chief Justice of India and senior judges became central to the recommendation process.
The Collegium System is a system of judicial appointments developed through:
Supreme Court judgments
It is:
Not expressly mentioned in the Constitution
The Collegium recommends appointments and transfers of judges of:
The Supreme Court Collegium consists of:
Chief Justice of India + Four senior-most Supreme Court judges
It deals with appointments and transfers relating to the higher judiciary.
For appointment to the Supreme Court, the Collegium considers suitable candidates and makes recommendations.
The process broadly involves:
Supreme Court Collegium
↓
Recommendation
↓
Government consideration
↓
President
↓
Appointment
The constitutional appointment is formally made by:
The President
9. Role of the Chief Justice of India
The Chief Justice of India plays a central role in the Collegium System.
However, the Chief Justice of India does not ordinarily exercise unilateral power.
The appointment process operates through:
Collective decision-making by the Collegium
10. Role of Senior Judges
The senior-most judges of the Supreme Court participate in the Collegium.
This creates a system of:
Institutional judicial consultation
rather than appointment based solely on the decision of one individual.
11. Government's Role
The Union Government is involved in processing and considering Collegium recommendations.
The government can:
Examine recommendations
Seek clarification
Return a recommendation for reconsideration
However, under the prevailing Collegium framework, a recommendation reiterated by the Collegium has significant constitutional weight.
12. President's Role
The President formally appoints Supreme Court judges.
Therefore:
Formal Appointment → President
while:
Recommendation → Collegium
This distinction is important for UPSC.
13. Third Judges Case — 1998
The Supreme Court gave further clarity to the Collegium System through its advisory opinion in:
Third Judges Case, 1998
The Court expanded the Collegium for Supreme Court appointments to:
Chief Justice of India + Four senior-most Supreme Court judges
This remains the basic structure of the Supreme Court Collegium.
14. Consultation vs Concurrence
The appointment process illustrates the constitutional debate over the meaning of:
Consultation
The judicial interpretation evolved from:
Executive Primacy
to:
Judicial Primacy
through the Judges Cases.
15. Collegium and Judicial Independence
The Collegium System is justified primarily on the basis of:
Judicial independence
If the Executive had complete control over judicial appointments, concerns could arise regarding:
Political influence
Executive pressure
Judicial independence
The Collegium attempts to reduce such risks.
16. Criticism of Collegium System
The Collegium System has been criticised for:
Lack of transparency
Limited public accountability
Absence of a formal selection framework
Possibility of subjectivity
Lack of clearly defined selection criteria
Limited institutional diversity
The debate therefore involves:
Judicial Independence vs Transparency and Accountability
17. National Judicial Appointments Commission
Parliament attempted to replace the Collegium System with the:
National Judicial Appointments Commission
The NJAC was created through:
99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014
along with the:
National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014
18. Composition of NJAC
The proposed NJAC consisted of:
Chief Justice of India — Chairperson
Two other senior Supreme Court judges
Union Minister of Law and Justice
Two eminent persons
The eminent persons were to be selected by a committee consisting of:
Prime Minister
Chief Justice of India
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha
19. NJAC Judgment — 2015
In:
Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India, 2015
the Supreme Court struck down the:
99th Constitutional Amendment
and the:
NJAC Act
The Court held that judicial independence is part of the:
Basic Structure of the Constitution
Therefore, the Collegium System continued.
20. Collegium vs NJAC
Feature Collegium NJAC
Origin Judicial decisions Constitutional Amendment
Executive role Limited Greater
Judicial role Dominant Shared
Transparency Criticised Proposed broader participation
Status Continues Struck down
Key basis Judicial independence Institutional participation
21. Appointment of Chief Justice of India
Traditionally, the:
Senior-most Supreme Court judge
is appointed as Chief Justice of India, subject to the established convention and suitability.
The formal appointment is made by:
President of India
22. Appointment of Other Supreme Court Judges
For other Supreme Court judges, recommendations are made through the:
Supreme Court Collegium
The President formally appoints the recommended candidates.
23. Appointment of Ad Hoc Judges
Under:
Article 127
an ad hoc judge may be appointed when there is a lack of quorum of permanent judges for holding or continuing a session of the Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice of India may request a qualified High Court judge to sit as an:
Ad hoc Judge of the Supreme Court
with the consent of the President and after consultation with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court.
24. Retired Judges Sitting in Supreme Court
Under:
Article 128
the Chief Justice of India may request a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge to sit and act as a judge of the Supreme Court, subject to the constitutional conditions.
The judge's consent is required.
25. Important Distinction
Article 124
→ Appointment of Supreme Court Judges
Article 127
→ Ad hoc Judges
Article 128
→ Retired Judges sitting in Supreme Court
26. UPSC Prelims Facts
Article 124
→ Supreme Court and appointment of judges
President
→ Formally appoints Supreme Court judges
Collegium
→ Recommends appointments
Second Judges Case, 1993
→ Judicial primacy + Collegium
Third Judges Case, 1998
→ Clarified and expanded Collegium
99th Amendment, 2014
→ NJAC
NJAC Judgment, 2015
→ NJAC struck down
Article 127
→ Ad hoc judges
Article 128
→ Retired judges sitting in Supreme Court
27. UPSC Prelims Traps
Trap 1
"The Collegium System is directly mentioned in Article 124."
False
It developed through:
Judicial interpretation
Trap 2
"The Prime Minister appoints Supreme Court judges."
False
Formal appointment is made by:
President
Trap 3
"The President independently selects Supreme Court judges."
False
Under the prevailing system, recommendations come through the:
Collegium
Trap 4
"The Second Judges Case established Executive Primacy."
False
It established:
Judicial Primacy
Trap 5
"The First Judges Case established the Collegium System."
False
The First Judges Case favoured:
Executive Primacy
The Collegium emerged from the later Judges Cases.
Trap 6
"The NJAC is currently the appointment mechanism."
False
The Supreme Court struck down the NJAC framework in:
2015
Trap 7
"The NJAC was created by an ordinary law alone."
False
It was established through:
99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014
and an accompanying Act.
Trap 8
"The Collegium consists only of the Chief Justice of India."
False
The Supreme Court Collegium consists of:
CJI + Four senior-most Supreme Court judges
28. Quick Revision
SUPREME COURT JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT
↓
Article 124
↓
Formal Appointment → President
↓
Recommendation → Collegium
JUDGES CASES
↓
First Judges Case, 1981
→ Executive Primacy
Second Judges Case, 1993
→ Judicial Primacy
→ Collegium
Third Judges Case, 1998
→ Expanded/Clarified Collegium
NJAC
↓
99th Amendment, 2014
↓
NJAC Act, 2014
↓
Struck Down, 2015
↓
Collegium Continues
Article 127
→ Ad hoc Judge
Article 128
→ Retired Judge
29. Mains Relevance
The appointment of Supreme Court judges represents a constitutional balance between:
Judicial Independence + Democratic Accountability
The Collegium System evolved through judicial interpretation to protect judicial independence from excessive executive influence.
However, concerns regarding transparency, accountability, diversity and selection criteria remain.
The NJAC attempted to introduce greater institutional participation but was struck down because judicial independence was held to be part of the:
Basic Structure of the Constitution
Therefore, the continuing reform challenge is to improve the:
Transparency + Accountability + Efficiency
of judicial appointments without compromising:
Judicial Independence