Name of the Case : Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association vs. Union of India
Year of Judgement : 1993
Popular Name : Second Judges case
Related Topic/ Issue : Appointment of Supreme Court and High Court Judges
Related Article/ Schedule : 124 & 217
Supreme Court Judgement:
- The ruling marked a departure from the precedent set by the S.P. Gupta case (1981), commonly referred to as the First Judges case.
- It mandated that the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts must follow a process where the President acts upon the advice of the Chief Justice of India, who, in turn, considers the opinions of two senior colleagues.
- This effectively redefined "consultation" in Articles 124(2) and 217(1) as "concurrence".
- Furthermore, it established the convention that the most senior judge of the Supreme Court should assume the role of the Chief Justice of India.
Impact of the Judgement:
- Following this ruling and the Advisory Opinion in the Third Judges case (1998), a Memorandum of Procedure for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts was devised.
- This procedure, established by the judiciary, is popularly known as the "collegium system".
- Under the collegium system, the Chief Justice of India and a forum of senior judges have significant involvement in the selection and appointment of judges.
