Revision summary
Appointment, charged salaries, difficult removal, and Articles 121 and 211 protect the judge. Articles 13, 32 and 226 give independence as judicial review. Kesavananda (1973) put judicial review and related features inside the basic structure. Minerva Mills and the 2015 NJAC judgment show the doctrine blocking amendments that weaken courts. Independence is therefore both a set of articles and a limit on Article 368.
Model answer
Introduction
Judicial independence in India is a cluster of shields around appointment, tenure, pay, and review. The basic structure doctrine in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) then stops even Article 368 from hollowing out that cluster.
Body
Constitutional guarantees of independence
- Articles 124 and 217, with the collegium in the Second and Third Judges Cases, keep appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges out of a purely ministerial gift.
- Tenure, removal only by parliamentary address under Article 124(4) and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, and the bar in Articles 121 and 211, protect the person of the judge.
- Salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund under Articles 112 and 202, so the annual vote cannot starve the courts.
- Articles 13, 32, 136, 141, 142 and 226 give judicial review and binding precedent, which is independence as power.
Importance of the basic structure doctrine
- Kesavananda held that Article 368 cannot destroy essential features, among them judicial review and a form of separation of powers.
- Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975) and Minerva Mills v. Union of India (1980) stopped Parliament from making itself the last judge of elections or of fundamental rights.
- The 99th Amendment and the National Judicial Appointments Commission were struck down in 2015 as impairing judicial primacy in appointments.
- Ordinary guarantees can be amended; basic structure makes independence a limit on the amending power itself.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD T[Tenure pay removal Arts 124 112 121] --> I[Judicial independence] R[Review Arts 13 32 226] --> I K[Kesavananda basic structure] --> L[Limit on Art 368] L --> I I --> C[Constitutional government]
Conclusion
The Constitution insulates judges through appointment practice, tenure, charged pay, and writ review. The basic structure doctrine is important because it places that insulation beyond a determined parliamentary majority, so independence remains a constitutional principle, not a revocable statute.
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