UPSC Prelims 2014 · Question 55 of 100
UPSC Prelims 2014 question on Supreme Court Judges Number
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2014
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectPolity
- TopicHigher Judiciary (SC and HC)
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeDirect
The power to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court of India is vested in
Show answer
Answer: B. The Parliament
Verdict
The answer is Parliament. The strength of the Supreme Court is fixed by law made by Parliament under Article 124.
Analysis
Article 124(1) provides for a Chief Justice and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, a specified number of other judges, so any increase requires legislation such as the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act. The President is wrong because the President appoints individual judges but cannot alter the sanctioned strength. The Chief Justice is wrong because the collegium recommends appointments within the sanctioned strength. The Law Commission is wrong because it is a non statutory advisory body that can recommend but not decide.
Source
M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity.
How to crack it
Separate three different powers that candidates habitually merge: who fixes the number, who appoints the person, and who recommends the name. Parliament fixes, the President appoints, the collegium recommends. The same three way split works for High Court strength and for the removal process, where the roles again divide between Parliament and the President. Once the split is clear, every distractor in this question is visibly answering a different question.