Context

• According to a report published by the Department of Justice, 60 lakh cases were pending in various High Courts in April 2024, while 30% of the seats remained vacant.
• The problem of appointment of judges, which is linked to the problem of pending cases, has always been a matter of debate in India. It escalated further when the Supreme Court declared the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 and the 99th Constitutional Amendment, 2014 as unconstitutional.  

National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)

• It was passed by the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014
• It provides for the formation of an independent commission in place of the collegium system.

Composition:

• Chief Justice of India (Chairman)
• Two other senior judges of the Supreme Court
• Union Minister of Law and Justice
• Two other eminent persons to be nominated by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister of India and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.
• But in the year 2015 the Supreme Court in the Fourth Judges case declared this Act unconstitutional, saying that it would affect the independence of the judiciary, hence the old collegium system was restored.

Supreme Court of India

• Part 5 of the Constitution (Article 124 to Article 147): Mentions the constitution, independence, jurisdiction, powers, procedure, etc. of the Supreme Court.
• Article 124: The original Constitution of 1950 established the Supreme Court with 1 Chief Justice and 7 sub-judges.
• Maximum number of judges: Chief Justice of India and 33 other judges 

The Supreme Court of India has two types of benches: Division Benches and Constitutional Benches

• Division Benches: These benches consist of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) along with 2 or 3 other judges.
• Constitutional Benches: These benches consist of five or more judges, and are constituted to decide fundamental questions of law.
• Largest bench ever: Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala case, 1973 (which had 13 judges)