Supreme Court gets two new judges

• The President recently appointed Telangana Chief Justice and Kerala Chief Justice as Supreme Court judges.
• The appointments came within a week of the Supreme Court Collegium, led by the Chief Justice of India, recommending their names to the government.
• The two new appointments increase the judicial strength of the apex court to 33, leaving only one vacancy.

Collegium System

• It is a novel mechanism devised to ensure a democratic system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the SC
• The system of appointment and transfer of judges neither by an Act of Parliament nor by a provision of the Constitution.

Evolution of the System

1. First Judges Case (1981)

• The judgement held that consultation does not mean concurrence and it only implies an exchange of views under Article 124 of the Indian Constitution
• The President was not bound to make a decision based on the consultation of the Supreme Court.
• Gave Executive primacy over the Judiciary in judicial appointments

2. Second Judges Case (1993)

• SC introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
• It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the SC.

3. Third Judges Case (1998)

• SC expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.

Who Heads the Collegium System?

• The SC collegium is headed by the CJI and comprises four other senior most judges of the court.
• A High Court collegium is led by the incumbent Chief Justice and two other senior most judges of that court.
• Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system and the government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.

Prelims Takeaway

• The Collegium System
• Supreme Court
• High Court