The secret circle of power: How India's judges appoint themselves

Wars & Conflicts · Published 17 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In India, the highest court of the land isn't just independent from the government—it is the primary architect of its own membership. This self-appointing mechanism, known as the collegium system, has sparked a fierce national debate over judicial autonomy, nepotism, and the

Judges currently serving on India's Supreme Court select members for the nation's Judiciary via the collegium framework. Neither the primary Indian Constitution nor any following modifications contain direct references to this process. Instead, it evolved through a series of three landmark judgments known as the "Three Judges Cases" (1981, 1993, and 1998). These rulings established the principle of judicial independence, ensuring that no other branch of state—neither the legislature nor the executive—has a say in judicial appointments.

The system has faced intense criticism for being a hotbed of nepotism, often referred to as the "uncle judge syndrome." In 2015, reports suggested that roughly 33% of Supreme Court judges and 50% of High Court judges were family members of those in higher judicial echelons. Furthermore, a 2022 observation noted that Supreme Court judges have originated from only about 250-300 families, leading to allegations of caste bias and a lack of representation for marginalized communities like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The government attempted to dismantle this system in 2014 by passing the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Bill. However, in October 2015, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court struck down the 99th Amendment and the NJAC Act in a 4:1 majority. The court ruled that executive interference in judicial appointments tampered with the "basic structure" of the constitution, though it acknowledged the collegium system lacks transparency and credibility.

Despite these legal battles, the system remains opaque. In December 2022, the court ruled that the Right to Information Act does not apply to the internal discussions regarding judge appointments. This lack of transparency, combined with a shortage of judges (15 per million population in 2026 compared to a global standard of 50), has contributed to a massive backlog of over 56 million pending cases as of August 2026.

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