GK Question

polity hard mcq

The collegium system for appointment of judges to Supreme Court and High Courts was evolved through which series of cases?

  1. Kesavananda Bharati trilogy
  2. Three Judges Cases (1981, 1993, 1998)
  3. Minerva Mills trilogy
  4. Basic Structure trilogy

Answer: Three Judges Cases (1981, 1993, 1998)

Three Judges Cases: (a) First Judges Case (S.P. Gupta, 1981): Executive had primacy in appointments, (b) Second Judges Case (1993): Collegium system evolved; CJI's opinion has primacy, (c) Third Judges Case (1998): Collegium expanded to CJI + 4 senior-most SC judges. 99th Amendment (NJAC) struck down in 2015, reaffirming collegium. Ongoing debate on balancing judicial independence with accountability in appointments.

Topic Judicial Accountability - Collegium System
Exam Relevance Judicial appointments evolution question critical for UPSC Mains and Judiciary exams