CONSTITUTION OF SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

On the 28th of January, 1950, two days after
India became a Sovereign Democratic
Republic, the Supreme Court came into being.
The inauguration took place in the Chamber of
Princes in the Parliament building which also
housed India's Parliament, consisting of the
Council of States and the House of the People.
It was here, in this Chamber of Princes, that
the Federal Court of India had sat for 12 years
between 1937 and 1950. This was to be the
home of the Supreme Court for years that were
to follow until the Supreme Court acquired its
own present premises.

The inaugural proceedings were simple but
impressive. They began at 9.45 a.m. when the
Judges of the Federal Court - Chief Justice
Harilal J.Kania and Justices Saiyid Fazl Ali, M.
Patanjali Sastri, Mehr Chand Mahajan, Bijan
Kumar Mukherjea and S.R.Das - took their
seats. In attendance were the Chief Justices of
the High Courts of Allahabad, Bombay,
Madras, Orissa, Assam, Nagpur, Punjab,
Saurashtra, Patiala and the East Punjab States
Union, Mysore, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat and
Travancore-Cochin. Along with the Attorney
General for India, M.C. Setalvad were present
the Advocate Generals of Bombay, Madras,
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, East Punjab, Orissa,
Mysore, Hyderabad and Madhya Bharat.
Present too, were Prime Minister, other
Ministers, Ambassadors and diplomatic
representatives of foreign States, a large
number of Senior and other Advocates of the
Court and other distinguished visitors.
Taking care to ensure that the Rules of the
Supreme Court were published and the names
of all the Advocates and agents of the Federal
Court were brought on the rolls of the
Supreme Court, the inaugural proceedings
were over and put under part of the record of
the Supreme Court.

After its inauguration on January 28, 1950, the
Supreme Court commenced its sittings in a
part of the Parliament House. The Court moved
into the present building in 1958. The building
is shaped to project the image of scales of
justice. The Central Wing of the building is the
Centre Beam of the Scales. In 1979, two New
Wings - the East Wing and the West Wing -
were added to the complex. In all there are 15
Court Rooms in the various wings of the
building. The Chief Justice's Court is the largest
of the Courts located in the Centre of the
Central Wing.

The original Constitution of 1950 envisaged a
Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 7
puisne Judges - leaving it to Parliament to
increase this number. In the early years, all
the Judges of the Supreme Court sat together
to hear the cases presented before them. As
the work of the Court increased and arrears of
cases began to cumulate, Parliament increased
the number of Judges from 8 in 1950 to 11 in
1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978 and 26 in 1986.
As the number of the Judges has increased,
they sit in smaller Benches of two and three -
coming together in larger Benches of 5 and
more only when required to do so or to settle
a difference of opinion or controversy.

The Supreme Court of India comprises the
Chief Justice and not more than 25 other
Judges appointed by the President of India.
Supreme Court Judges retire upon attaining the
age of 65 years. In order to be appointed as a
Judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be
a citizen of India and must have been, for
atleast five years, a Judge of a High Court or of
two or more such Courts in succession, or an
Advocate of a High Court or of two or more
such Courts in succession for at least 10 years
or he must be, in the opinion of the President,
a distinguished jurist. Provisions exist for the
appointment of a Judge of a High Court as an
Ad-hoc Judge of the Supreme Court and for
retired Judges of the Supreme Court or High
Courts to sit and act as Judges of that Court.

The Constitution seeks to ensure the
independence of Supreme Court Judges in
various ways. A Judge of the Supreme Court
cannot be removed from office except by an
order of the President passed after an address
in each House of Parliament supported by a
majority of the total membership of that
House and by a majority of not less than two-
thirds of members present and voting, and
presented to the President in the same Session
for such removal on the ground of proved
misbehaviour or incapacity. A person who has
been a Judge of the Supreme Court is debarred
from practising in any court of law or before
any other authority in India.

The proceedings of the Supreme Court are
conducted in English only. Supreme Court
Rules, 1966 are framed under Article 145 of
the Constitution to regulate the practice and
procedure of the Supreme Court.