Supreme Court: Composition, Appointment and Independence

Prerequisites

• Fundamental Rights — the Supreme Court is the guarantor of Part III through Art 32.
• Parliament — removal of a judge needs a special majority in both Houses.
• Union Executive — the President appoints judges and acts on the collegium’s advice.

The Hook: Who Picks the People Who Judge the Government?

Why it matters: Prelims asks qualifications, strength, Art 124(4) and the Judges Cases. Mains regularly asks “collegium vs NJAC” and “how does the Constitution secure judicial independence?”

From Federal Court to Supreme Court

Seat (Art 130): Delhi, or any other place the Chief Justice of India (CJI) appoints with the approval of the President. No permanent bench outside Delhi has been set up.

Composition and Strength (Art 124(1))

The Constitution originally provided for a Chief Justice and 7 other judges (8 in all). Art 124(1) lets Parliament increase the number by law. It does so through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, amended from time to time.

Qualifications (Art 124(3))

A person must be a citizen of India and:

1. a judge of a High Court (or of two or more High Courts in succession) for at least 5 years; or
2. an advocate of a High Court (or of two or more in succession) for at least 10 years; or
3. a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President.

No minimum age is prescribed. The “distinguished jurist” route exists for the Supreme Court but not for High Courts, and it has not been used so far (as of 2026).

Tenure: a judge holds office until 65 years (Art 124(2)). He or she may resign by writing to the President, or be removed under Art 124(4).

Oath (Art 124(6)): before the President or a person appointed by him. The form is in the Third Schedule.

Appointment: Text, Practice and the Four Judges Cases

Text of Art 124(2): The President appoints every Supreme Court judge “after consultation with” such judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts as he deems necessary. For judges other than the CJI, the CJI shall always be consulted.

The fight has been over one word: does “consultation” mean “concurrence”?

graph LR
    A["1981 First Judges Case
executive primacy"] --> B["1993 Second Judges Case
CJI primacy, collegium born"]
    B --> C["1998 Third Judges Case
CJI + 4 for SC"]
    C --> D["2014 99th Amendment
NJAC created"]
    D --> E["2015 Fourth Judges Case
NJAC struck down 4:1"]

The NJAC that never worked (Art 124A, inserted 2014)

Any two members could veto a name. The Court held that giving the executive and non-judges this decisive role compromised judicial independence.

Appointment of the CJI

By convention, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is appointed CJI on the outgoing CJI’s recommendation. The convention was broken twice: 1973, when Justice A.N. Ray was appointed over three senior judges, and 1977, when Justice M.H. Beg was appointed over Justice H.R. Khanna. Since the Second Judges Case (1993), seniority has been treated as the rule.

Collegium: evaluation for Mains

Acting, Ad Hoc and Retired Judges

Removal of Judges (Art 124(4) and (5))

Grounds: only “proved misbehaviour or incapacity”.

Procedure:

graph TD
    A["Notice of motion
signed by 100 Lok Sabha members
or 50 Rajya Sabha members"] --> B["Speaker or Chairman
may admit or refuse it"]
    B --> C["If admitted: 3-member inquiry committee
CJI or an SC judge, a HC Chief Justice,
a distinguished jurist"]
    C --> D{"Committee finds
misbehaviour or incapacity?"}
    D -- "No" --> X["Motion not proceeded with"]
    D -- "Yes" --> E["Each House passes the address
by SPECIAL MAJORITY in the same session"]
    E --> F["President passes the
order of removal"]

• Special majority = a majority of the total membership of the House and at least two-thirds of members present and voting, in each House, in the same session.
• The procedure is laid down by the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 (made under Art 124(5)).
• The Constitution does not use the word “impeachment” for judges. That word is used only for the President (Art 61). In popular usage, judges’ removal is still called impeachment.

How the Constitution Secures Judicial Independence

Memory Tricks

Don’t Confuse

Common Mistakes

Practice

All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.

Level 1: Foundation

1. The Supreme Court of India was inaugurated on ______.
2. Under Article 124(3), an advocate needs at least ______ years of practice in a High Court to be appointed a Supreme Court judge.
3. The ad hoc judges of the Supreme Court are provided for in Article ______.

Level 2: Prelims MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements about the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court:

1. A notice of motion for removal must be signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha.
2. The address for removal must be passed by each House by a majority of its total membership and by two-thirds of the members present and voting.
3. The Constitution uses the term “impeachment” for the removal of judges.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 only
• (b) 2 only
• (c) 1 and 2 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Match List I (Case) with List II (Holding):

• (a) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
• (b) A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2
• (c) A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
• (d) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1

Q3. Who among the following appoints an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court?

• (a) The President, after consulting the CJI
• (b) The CJI, with the previous consent of the President
• (c) The President, on the advice of the Union Cabinet
• (d) The collegium of the Supreme Court, without reference to the President

Q4. Which one of the following is not a constitutional safeguard of the independence of Supreme Court judges?

• (a) Their salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
• (b) Their conduct cannot be discussed in Parliament except on a removal motion.
• (c) They are appointed only from among the judges of High Courts.
• (d) After retirement they cannot plead before any court in India.

Q5. As of October 2026, the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court of India, including the Chief Justice, is:

• (a) 31
• (b) 34
• (c) 37
• (d) 38

Level 3: Mains Answer Writing

Q1. (60 words) What is the collegium system? Why was the NJAC struck down?

Q2. (150–200 words) “Judicial independence is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.” Discuss the constitutional provisions that secure it and the debate over the method of appointing judges.

Quick Revision Table

Key Takeaways

What’s Next

• Supreme Court: Jurisdiction and Powers — what the Court can hear and decide
• High Courts and Subordinate Courts — the same questions at the state level, with Bilaspur
• Judicial Review, PIL and Judicial Activism — the basic structure doctrine that saved the collegium
• Constitutional Remedies and Writs — Art 32 in detail