• Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai administered the oath of office to Justices N.V. Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and A.S. Chandurkar as judges of the Supreme Court.

• The CJI administered the oath to the judges at a ceremony in Supreme Court premises on May 30.

• With the swearing in of the judges, the Supreme Court regained its full working strength of 34 judges, including the CJI.

• On May 26, the Supreme Court collegium recommended the appointment of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Anjaria, Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Bishnoi, and Bombay High Court judge Justice Chandurkar as judges of the Supreme Court.

• Their names were recommended against the three existing vacancies of judges in the apex court following the superannuation of ex-CJI Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Abhay S. Oka and Hrishikesh Roy.

What is the collegium system?

• The collegium system is a forum including the Chief Justice of India and four senior-most judges of the SC, which recommends appointments and transfers of judges. 

• Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system, and the government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.

Appointment of SC judges

• The CJI and judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution.

• In order to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be a citizen of India and must have been, for at least five years, a judge of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession, or an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession for at least 10 years or he must be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. 

• Provisions exist for the appointment of a judge of a High Court as an ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court and for retired Judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts to sit and act as judges of that court.

• Whenever a vacancy is expected to arise in the office of a judge of the Supreme Court, the CJI will initiate a proposal and forward his recommendation to the law minister to fill up the vacancy.

• The opinion of the CJI for appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court should be formed in consultation with a collegium of the four senior-most judges of the apex court.

• The opinion of members of the collegium in respect of each of the recommendations as well as the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court from the High Court from which a prospective candidate comes, would be made in writing. The CJI must transmit his opinion as also the opinion of all concerned to the government of India as part of record.

• After receipt of the final recommendation of the CJI, the law minister will put up the recommendations to the Prime Minister, who will advise the President in the matter of appointment.

• Supreme Court judges retire upon attaining the age of 65 years.

Removal of SC judges

• The Constitution seeks to ensure the independence of Supreme Court judges in various ways. 

• A judge of the Supreme Court cannot be removed from office except by an order of the President passed after an address in each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, and presented to the President in the same Session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. 

• A person who has been a judge of the Supreme Court is debarred from practising in any court of law or before any other authority in India.

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