Collegium System
Evolution and Transparency Challenges
The collegium system is the mechanism by which Supreme Court judges are appointed and transferred — it is not derived from any explicit constitutional text but emerged from a series of Supreme Court judgments. The Second Judges Case (1993) established that the Chief Justice of India's opinion shall have primacy in judicial appointments and transfers. The Third Judges Case (1998) further evolved the system, establishing the collegium — the CJI plus the four most senior judges of the Supreme Court — as the collective decision-making body for appointments. The collegium's proceedings are not subject to RTI, are not publicly recorded, and are not subject to parliamentary oversight — making transparency a persistent criticism. The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014, attempted to replace the collegium with a constitutional commission including the Law Minister, but was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015 (Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India) as violating judicial independence.
- First Judges Case (S.P. Gupta v. Union of India, 1982): held executive primacy in appointments — subsequently overruled
- Second Judges Case (Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record, 1993): established CJI's primacy; effective birth of collegium
- Third Judges Case (Presidential Reference, 1998): collegium = CJI + 4 senior-most SC judges; formalized the system
- NJAC Act, 2014: 99th Constitutional Amendment; created National Judicial Appointments Commission including Law Minister and 2 eminent persons; struck down 2015
- Collegium transparency: SC began uploading collegium resolutions on its website after 2017 — partial transparency improvement
- Dissent in collegium: rare but not unprecedented; Justice Nagarathna's dissent is notable for being made public
● Tracked since March 03, 2026 · last seen August 09, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes