STATUS OF JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS AND JUDICIAL REFORMS

Appointments of judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts are governed by Articles 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution of India.

The procedure for appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts is laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) prepared in 1998 pursuant to the Supreme Court Judgment of October 6, 1993 (Second Judges case) read with their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998 (Third Judges case). As per the MoP, initiation of proposal for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India and initiation of proposal for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. Only those persons are appointed as Judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court who are recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC).

Appointment of the Judges of the Constitutional Courts is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process between the Executive and the Judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various constitutional authorities both at state and central level.

In order to replace the Collegium system of appointments of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts with a more broad-based, transparent, accountable appointment mechanism and to bring greater objectivity in the system, the Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 were brought into effect on 13.04.2015. However, both Acts were challenged in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court vide Judgment dated 16.10.2015 declared both Acts as unconstitutional and void. The Collegium system as existing prior to the enforcement of the Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 was declared to be operative.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal Ji, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

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Samrat/PN/Sagar