Article 124(2) is a fundamental provision of the Constitution of India that governs the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court (SC). It is part of Article 124, which deals with the establishment and constitution of the Supreme Court, and was created when the Constitution was enacted in 1950 to establish a framework for an independent judiciary.
The provision states that every SC Judge shall be appointed by the President of India by warrant under his hand and seal. The original text mandated that the President make the appointment "after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary," with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) always being consulted for appointments other than the CJI. This mechanism was intended to balance executive and judicial input in the appointment process.
The interpretation of the word "consultation" in Article 124(2) has been the subject of significant judicial evolution, leading to the development of the collegium system. In the Second Judges Case (Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India, 1993), a nine-judge bench established that the opinion of the CJI, formed collectively with senior SC judges, would have primacy, effectively meaning the President must concur with the judiciary's recommendation.
The provision was recently amended by the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014, which sought to replace the collegium system by establishing the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). The amended Article 124(2) stated that the appointment would be "on the recommendation of the National Judicial Appointments Commission". However, the Supreme Court declared the NJAC unconstitutional in 2015 (Fourth Judges Case), ruling that it threatened judicial independence. Consequently, the collegium system, which is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but developed through judicial pronouncements, was revived and remains the operative mechanism for appointments under Article 124(2). The provision also specifies that a judge shall hold office until they attain the age of sixty-five years.