The Judiciary — Supreme Court & High Courts — KSLU Constitutional Law 2 Notes

The Judiciary — Supreme Court & High Courts

Judges are appointed by the President but effectively chosen by the collegium (judges selecting judges) — a system the Court has guarded as essential to independence, striking down the NJAC in Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Assn. v. Union of India (2015). The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction spans original (Art. 131 — Centre–State disputes; Art. 32 — fundamental rights), appellate (Arts. 132–136, including the discretionary special leave under Art. 136) and advisory (Art. 143). High Courts hold writ jurisdiction (Art. 226) and superintendence (Art. 227); transfer of a High Court judge is permissible only in the public interest, never as punishment.