Three Judges Cases
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The Indian Judicial collegium system, where existing judges appoint judges to the nation's constitutional courts, has its genesis in, and continued basis resting on, three of its own judgments made by Supreme Court judges which are collectively known as the Three Judges Cases.


The cases

Following are the three cases: # ''S. P. Gupta v. Union of India'' - 1981 (also known as the Judges' Transfer case) # Supreme Court Advocates-on Record Association vs Union of India - 1993 # ''In re'' Special Reference 1 of 1998 Over the course of the three cases, the court evolved the principle of judicial independence to mean that no other branch of the state - including the legislature and the executive - would have any say in the appointment of judges. The court then created the collegium system, which has been in use since the judgment in the Second Judges Case was issued in 1993. There is no mention of the collegium either in the original
Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
or in successive amendments. The Third Judges Case of 1998 is not a case but an opinion delivered by the Supreme Court of India responding to a question of law regarding the collegium system, raised by then President of India
K. R. Narayanan Kocheril Raman Narayanan (27 October 1921 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the 9th vice president of India, Vice President of India from 1992 to 1997 and 10th President of India fr ...
, in July 1998 under his constitutional powers. Further, in January 2013, the court dismissed as without
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, a public interest litigation filed by NGO Suraz India Trust that sought to challenge the collegium system of appointment. In July 2013,
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...
P. Sathasivam Palanisamy Sathasivam (born 27 April 1949) is an Indian judge who served as the 40th Chief Justice of India, holding the office from 2013 to 2014. On retirement from his judicial career, Sathasivam was appointed the 21st List of governors of K ...
spoke against any attempts to change the collegium system. On 5 September 2013, the Rajya Sabha passed The Constitution (120th Amendment) bill, 2013, that amends articles 124(2) and 217(1) of the Constitution of India, 1950 and establishes the
National Judicial Appointments Commission The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the recruitment, appointment and transfer of judicial officers, legal officers and legal employees under the government of India and ...
, on whose recommendation the President would appoint judges to the higher judiciary. The amendment was struck down by the Supreme Court for being unconstitutional on 16 October, 2015. The constitutional bench of Justices J. S. Khehar,
Madan Lokur Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur (born 31 December 1953) is an Indian jurist. He is a Judge of Supreme Court of Fiji. He is former Judge of Supreme Court of India. He is also former Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court and Gauhati High Cou ...
,
Kurian Joseph Kurian Joseph (born 30 November 1953) is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Previously, he has served as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court and Judge of Kerala High Court. Early life Kurian Joseph was born on 30 Novem ...
and
Adarsh Kumar Goel Adarsh Kumar Goel (born 7 July 1953) is an Indian Judge. Presently, he is Chairperson of National Green Tribunal. He is former Judge of Supreme Court of India. He is also former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court and Gauhati High Court ...
had declared the 99th Amendment and NJAC Act unconstitutional while Justice Chelameswar upheld it.


Judicial meaning of the word "Recommendation"

In judgement on the presidential reference, Supreme Court has dealt elaborately, the modality of rendering recommendation by a constitutional entity such as Supreme Court,
President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
, etc, It is not at the discretion of the person consulted to render the recommendation but internal consultations with the peers shall be made in writing and the recommendation shall be made in accordance with the internal consultations.here internal consultations refer to panel of existing Supreme Court judges appointed by existing judges.


National Judicial Appointments Commission Act

The
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
on 13 August 2014 and the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
on 14 August 2014 passed the
National Judicial Appointments Commission The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the recruitment, appointment and transfer of judicial officers, legal officers and legal employees under the government of India and ...
(NJAC) Bill, 2014 to scrap the collegium system of appointment of Judges. The
President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
has given his assent to the
National Judicial Appointments Commission The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the recruitment, appointment and transfer of judicial officers, legal officers and legal employees under the government of India and ...
Bill, 2014 on 31 December 2014, after which the bill has been renamed as the
National Judicial Appointments Commission The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the recruitment, appointment and transfer of judicial officers, legal officers and legal employees under the government of India and ...
Act, 2014.


99th Amendment and NJAC Act quashed by Supreme court

By a majority opinion of 4:1, on 16 October 2015, Supreme Court struck down the constitutional amendment and the NJAC Act restoring the two-decade old collegium system of judges appointing judges in higher judiciary. Supreme Court declared that NJAC is interfering with the autonomy of the judiciary by the executive which amounts to tampering of the basic structure of the constitution where parliament is not empowered to change the basic structure. However, the Supreme Court also acknowledged that the collegium system of judges appointing judges is lacking transparency and credibility which would be rectified/improved by the Judiciary.


See also

*
National Judicial Appointments Commission The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the recruitment, appointment and transfer of judicial officers, legal officers and legal employees under the government of India and ...
*'' Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala''


References

{{Reflist Indian constitutional case law Supreme Court of India cases