Who is Eligible to Become a Judge of the Supreme Court?

According to Article 124(3), the following people can become a Supreme Court judge:

Who Appoints the Judges?

Under this Article, the judges of the Supreme Court are to be appointed by the President of India. However, unlike the procedure followed in other countries, such as the USA, the appointment of Supreme Court judges in India happens with the involvement of the Judiciary. Article 124(2) says that the President shall appoint the judges:

CJI Not Sole Decision-Maker

In 1998, the then President KR Narayanan made a reference to the Supreme Court to settle the question once and for all. Questions had arisen as to whether the “consultation” needed to take place with the Collegium/other judges or if the opinion of just the CJI was enough. Another nine-judge bench set out the conclusive position in 9 guidelines, in the Third Judges Case .

Collegium’s Recommendation Binding

Once the Collegium makes a recommendation to the President, the President can either accept it or send it back to the Collegium for reconsideration. If the Collegium once again recommends that candidate for appointment, the President is bound by the recommendation.

NJAC Introduced and Struck Down (the NJAC Judgment)

In 2014, they successfully introduced and passed the 99th Amendment to the Constitution and the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) Act 2014. This was supposed to lead to the creation of the NJAC, a six-member commission that would henceforth recommend candidates to the President.

The Impeachment Process

The process of impeachment is described in Article 124(4) of the Constitution and the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968. A judge can be removed on the ground of “proved misbehavior or incapacity”. Neither misbehaviour nor incapacity are defined, but would include any criminal activity or other judicial impropriety.

Justice V Ramaswami, Supreme Court of India

Why? Allegations of corruption, that he overspent on his official residence when at Punjab & Haryana High Court. What Happened? Impeachment process initiated in Lok Sabha in 1991, reached final stage in 1993, but failed to get 2/3 majority in Lok Sabha. Served out the rest of his tenure. Is the only SC judge to ever face impeachment.

Justice Soumitra Sen, Calcutta High Court

Why? Misappropriation of funds and lying to the court (during time as a lawyer) What Happened? Impeachment process initiated in Rajya Sabha in 2009, investigation upheld charges, Rajya Sabha passed address to impeach on 18 August 2011. Resigned on 1 September 2011, before Lok Sabha could vote. Proceedings became infructuous.

Justice PD Dinakaran, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court

Why? Allegations of corruption, land grabs and other abuses of office. What Happened? Impeachment process initiated in Rajya Sabha in January 2010. Resigned on 29 July 2011. Proceedings became infructuous.

Justice SK Gangele, Madhya Pradesh High Court

Why? Allegationsof sexual harassment of a woman judge. What Happened? Impeachment process initiated in Rajya Sabha in 2015, cleared of charges in December 2017.

Justice Pardiwala, Gujarat High Court

Why? Making improper remarks on reservations in a judgment. What Happened? Impeachment process initiated in Rajya Sabha in December 2015. Judge removed offending paragraph before Vice-President accepted the motion.