Appointment Division
- How the Judges in Supreme Court and High Courts appointed?
Judges of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts are appointed as per the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure 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 MoP, initiation of proposal for appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court vests with the Chief Justice of India, while initiation of proposal for appointment of Judges in the High Courts vests with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. As per the existing Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of Judges of High Courts, the Chief Justice of the High Court is required to initiate the proposal for filling up of vacancies of a Judge in a High Court six months prior to the occurrence of vacancies.
- Establishment of Supreme Court Benches:
As per Article 130 of the Constitution, “the Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint”.
There have been demands, from time to time, to set up Benches of the Supreme Court in different parts of the Country. However, the Supreme Court has consistently not agreed for setting up benches of the Supreme Court outside Delhi.
- How the of High Court Bench(s) are established?
High Court Benches are established in accordance with the recommendations made by the Jaswant Singh Commission and judgment pronounced by the Apex Court in W.P.(C) No. 379 of 2000 and after due consideration of a complete proposal from the State Government which has to provide necessary expenditure & infrastructural facilities and the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court who is required to look after the day-to-day administration of the High Court. The proposal to be complete should also have the consent of the Governor of the concerned State.
- What does the Department of Justice do on complaints received against Judges of the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts?
The complaints received by this Department are forwarded in original to the Supreme Court and concerned High Courts for appropriate action. These complaints are being handled by them as per the ‘In house mechanism’. As per this mechanism the Chief Justice of India is competent to receive complaints against the conduct of Judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of High Courts. Similarly, the complaints against Judges of the High Courts are being looked into by the Chief Justice of the concerned High Courts. The Central Government does not maintain records of such complaints or the action taken thereof.