The Independence of the Indian Judiciary The independence of the Indian Judiciary has, of late, been called in question by the legal fraternity, even retired judges of the Supreme Court. When the members of the bench themselves raise such questions, the faith of the people in the judiciary is bound to be shaken. Independence of judiciary is determined mainly by the appointment of judges. The independence and autonomy of any institution is determined by who appoints the head of that institution and how much power does the institution hold. The courts are a part of judiciary, which is intrinsic to the three pillars of parliamentary democracy. Under the Indian Constitution, there is separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and the legislature. Although these three pillars hold democracy together, it is the independence of the judiciary being the protector of the Constitution that is the most important, as without it a democracy is bound to collapse. HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA - Status Report 2021 by IAMC
Hence it is important that the appointment of judges is independent of all political influence. All judges of high courts and the Supreme Court are appointed and transferred by the Collegium system which has not been provided for in the Constitution, but through a series of judgments called the “The three judges cases”. The Constitution provides that Judges of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President of India in consulta-tion with the Chief Justice of India and other Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as the President of In-dia may deem necessary.
Judicial intervention The S.P. Gupta case (December 30, 1981) or the First Judges Casedeclared that the “primacy” of the CJI’s recommen-dation on judicial appointments and transfers
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