Collegium System and Judicial Independence

Three Judges Cases

The Collegium System — under which the judiciary itself recommends judicial appointments — evolved through three landmark cases:

S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (First Judges Case, 1982):

• A seven-judge bench held that "consultation" with CJI in Article 124(2) was not "concurrence"
• The executive had primacy in judicial appointments, giving the government the upper hand

Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. UoI (Second Judges Case, 1993):

• A nine-judge bench overruled S.P. Gupta
• Held that "consultation" means "concurrence" — CJI's recommendation was binding
• Primacy rested with the Chief Justice; collegium mechanism established

Re Presidential Reference (Third Judges Case, 1998):

• President Kocheril Raman Narayanan referred questions regarding collegium's composition
• SC clarified: collegium = CJI + 4 senior-most SC judges (not just CJI alone)
• Their unanimous recommendation is binding

NJAC Act, 2014 (Struck Down 2015)

The 99th Constitutional Amendment (2014) and the NJAC Act, 2014 proposed to replace the collegium with a 6-member commission: CJI + 2 senior SC judges + Law Minister + 2 "eminent persons" (nominated by PM, Leader of Opposition, and CJI).

In SCAORA v. UoI (2015), a five-judge Constitutional Bench struck down the NJAC by 4:1 majority:

• Violated the basic structure (judicial independence)
• Executive presence on the commission compromised judicial independence

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