Despite the critical role played by the Supreme Court of India, the lives of the judges have never been studied before. This seminal book presents biographical essays for each of the first ninety-three judges who served on the Court from 1950 through mid-1989. The essays in the book are based on interviews the author conducted with sixty-four of the sixty-eight judges who were alive in the 1980s, and on meetings and correspondence with family members or relatives, friends, and associates of the deceased judges. An attempt is made to account for why certain judges rather than others were chosen, the selection criteria employed and, to the extent possible in a secretive selection environment, to identify those who selected them. It concludes with a collective portrait of these judges, paying particular attention to changes in their background characteristics—fathers' occupation, education, pre-SCI career, caste, religion, state of birth, and region, over four decades. The essays also embrace their post-retirement activities.

In Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India, by majority, struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), established to appoint judges to the Supreme Court of India and High Courts. Unsurprisingly, the NJAC judgment has been the subject of a deeply polarized debate in the public sphere and academia. The essays in this volume analyse the NJAC judgment, and provide a rich context to it, in terms of philosophical, comparative, and constitutional issues that underpin it. The work traces the history of judicial appointments in India; analyses constitutional principles behind selecting judges and their application in the NJAC Case; and comparatively examines the judicial appointments process in six foreign jurisdictions, enquiring into what makes a good judge and an effective appointments process.

The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) judgment, on the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, has been the subject of a deeply polarized debate in the public sphere and academia. This volume analyses the NJAC judgment, and provides a rich context to it, in terms of philosophical, comparative, and constitutional issues that underpin it. The work traces the history of judicial appointments in India; examines the constitutional principles behind selecting judges and their application in the NJAC judgment; and comparatively looks at the judicial appointments process in six select countries—United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal—enquiring into what makes a good judge and an effective appointments process. With wide-ranging essays by leading lawyers, political scientists, and academics from India and abroad, the volume is a deep dive into the constitutional concepts of judicial independence and separation of powers as discussed in the NJAC judgment.

This book contains biographical essays for each of the first ninety-three judges who served on the Supreme Court of India from 1950 through mid-1989. It is the first close look at these judges, and follows them from their birth to their deaths. An attempt is made to account for why they were chosen - the selection criteria employed and, to the extent possible in a furtive selection environment, to identify those who selected them. The latter represents the first comprehensive attempt to connect the dots between a potential nominee and his ultimate appointment. The book concludes with a collective portrait of them, paying particular attention to changes in their backgrounds - fathers' occupation, education, pre-SCI careers, caste, religion, region, over the four decades.

A leading expert on Indian judiciary, George Gadbois offers a compelling biography of the Supreme Court of India, a powerful institution. Written and researched when he was a graduate student in the 1960s, this book provides the first comprehensive account of the Court’s foundation and early years. Gadbois opens with Hari Singh Gour’s proposal in 1921 to establish an indigenous ultimate court of appeal. After analyzing events preceding the Federal Court’s creation under the Government of India Act, 1935, Gadbois explores the Court’s largely overlooked role and record. He goes on to discuss the Constituent Assembly’s debates about Indian judiciary and the Supreme Court’s powers and jurisdiction under the Constitution. He pays particular attention to the history and practice of judicial appointments in India. In the book’s later chapters, Gadbois assesses the functioning of the Supreme Court during its first decade and a half. He critically analyzes its first decisions on free speech, equality and reservations, preventive detention, and the right to property. The book is an institutional tour de force beginning with the Federal Court’s establishment in December 1937, through the Supreme Court’s inauguration in January 1950, and until the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1964.

An empirical study of judicial appointments made to the Supreme Court of India since Independence. The historical debates surrounding the establishment of the Federal Court during the British Raj, debates in the Constituent Assembly of India and its sub-committees specific to the establishment of the Supreme Court, the three 'Judges Cases' and the political developments which led to the present 'collegium system' of appointing judges to the Supreme Court of India have all been discussed and analysed.

Examines whether the Indian Supreme Court can produce progressive social change and improve the lives of the relatively disadvantaged.

This Work Offers A Quantitative Analysis Of The Indian Supreme Court S Decision-Making Process Adopting A Methodology Which Is Unorthodox As Well As Innovative In The Field Of Judicial Research In India. It Is Unorthodox In The Sense That It Makes A Complete Departure From The Mainstream Writings Of The Common Law Traditions And Shifts Its Focus From What The Judges Say In Their Opinions To What Do They Do By Casting Their Votes In Favour Or Against The Parties Involved In The Controversies Before Them. The Methodology Is Innovative To The Extent That For The First Time The Individual Judges Decision Making Behaviour Has Been Subjected To A Rigorous Quantitative Analysis In The Overall Institutional Context. The Book Examines A Whole Range Of Factors Which Go As Essential Input Into The Supreme Court S Decision Making Process. Several Assumptions Relating To The Appointment Of Judges In The Court, The Chief Justice And His Leadership Role, The Business Environment, The Structural Arrangement Of Its Decision-Making Function, The Nature Of Agreement And Disagreement Among The Judges On The Decision Making Panels And The Value Orientation Of Judges Have Been Subjected To Close Scrutiny With A View To Provide An Understanding Of How The Decision-Makers In The Apex Court Go About Making Decisions Which Are Not Only Of Great Significance For The Immediate Parties Involved But At Times May Have Far Reaching Consequences For A Large Number Of Groups And Sections Of The Indian Society. Chapter 1: Jurimetrics: A Note On Methodology; Part I- The Decision Makers; Chapter 2: Appointment Of The Chief Justice Of India; Chapter 3: Selection And Appointment Of Judges; Part Ii- Institutional Environment; Chapter 4: Business Of The Court; Chapter 5: Structure Of Decision Making; Part Iii- Voting Behaviour; Chapter 6: Nature Of Participation: Dissent, Concurrence And Unanimity; Chapter 7: Attitudes And Value Orientations; Part Iv- Conclusion; Chapter 8: Conclusion.

"Appointment of judges and its process is the most vital aspect of the independence of judiciary, also a basic feature of the Constitution of India. The constitution enshrines various provisions for the independence of judiciary but preferred accountability to the autonomy by vesting the authority of appointment in the executive in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, as judiciary cannot be held accountable in the manner as the executive. However the Apex Court ruled that the judiciary cannot be independent if the primacy in not vested in the opinion of the Chief Justice of India, and invented the collegium, paving way to the endless criticisms and controversies. This book reviews the appointment of judges in the erstwhile federal court, the Supreme Court of India, since its inception and incorporates the constitutionally provided mechanism, any convention developed so far in the appointment of judges and related controversies arose while appointment taking place in the institution and thereafter, if any...[The] book also discusses the developments, reforms, discussions, suggestions, criticism and involved controversies in the process of appointment of judges."--