How Judges of Indian Court are appointed?

The judicial system of India is given the power and independence to control the lives of 1.2 billion people in India. And as we have heard many times, “With great power comes great responsibility” let us see how the judges of Indian court are appointed and precisely on what basis they are given the authority to declare verdicts and change our lives’.

To understand the Indian court procedure, we have segregated the judges on various levels- District Court, High Court, and Supreme Court.

Appointment of judges in District Court

The procedure of appointment of judges of the District court is either carried by the high court or state public service commissions. The process of the Indian court includes two tests.

1-Preliminary objective test, and

2- Mains subjective test.

Once the exams are qualified, the person is called for an interview which if cleared the person becomes a judge in the district court. Thus, the appointment of a judge at a district level is mainly regulated by the State Government,

ELIGIBILITY

• A person should have an experience of 7 years standing as an advocate at the bar, or
• Qualified written examination, and
• An oral interview.

Appointment of judges In High Court

The high court judges are appointed by the President on the advice of Chief Justice of India (who is the head of the judiciary of India and the supreme court of India), the Governor of the state at a time, and also the Chief Justice of the designated court.

ELIGIBILITY

• The person to be appointed as a high court judge must be an ‘Indian citizen’,
• He/ she for at least 10 years, should have been a judge in any court of India, or
• He/ she can also be an advocate but with an experience of  at least 10 years standing in High Court, or
• Jurists considered eminent by the President of India.

Appointment of judges in Supreme Court

The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  In practice, it now means that the senior judges of the Supreme Court select the new judges of the Supreme Court.

ELIGIBILITY

• A person should have been a judge of one or more high courts (consistently) for at least 5 years or more, or
• A person should have an experience of 10 years standing as an advocate of the High Court, or
• A person who is distinguished or considered eminent in the opinion of President

You should know that there is almost no scope of political interference in the appointment of judges. Furthermore, once a person is appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court or High Court it is next to impossible to remove him or her from that position. However, a judge can be removed if an impeachment motion is passed separately by two-third members of the two Houses of the Parliament- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha which has never been passed in India.