Article 124

Establishment and Constitution of the Supreme Court

Official heading: “Establishment and constitution of the Supreme Court”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part V, Article 124, printed pages 57–58
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 124 establishes the Supreme Court of India, determines judicial qualifications and tenure until age sixty-five, and prescribes the strict impeachment procedure for removal on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 124 is the foundational charter of the Supreme Court of India as the apex constitutional court of the nation. It originally provided for a Chief Justice and seven other judges, empowering Parliament to prescribe a larger number by law (increased to 33 other judges by the 2019 amendment act).

Clause (2) provides that every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President and hold office until attaining the age of sixty-five years. While the 99th Amendment (2014) introduced text referring to the NJAC, the Supreme Court in the landmark SCAORA judgment (2015) declared that amendment unconstitutional, reviving the collegium and consultation system as operative law.

Clause (3) prescribes strict eligibility criteria: a candidate must be an Indian citizen and must have been for at least five years a High Court Judge, or for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court, or be in the opinion of the President a distinguished jurist.

Clauses (4) and (5) guarantee tenure security through a rigorous removal procedure: a Judge can only be removed by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

Clause (7) permanently debars retired Supreme Court judges from pleading or acting in any court or before any authority within India, protecting judicial impartiality.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A controversial executive order seeks to unilaterally dismiss a sitting Supreme Court judge over an unpopular constitutional verdict.

Core takeaway: Under Article 124(4), the executive cannot remove a judge; removal requires a formal inquiry under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 and a two-thirds majority address passed by both Houses of Parliament.

Illustrative Notice: No Supreme Court judge in India's history has been successfully removed through a completed parliamentary impeachment vote.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 124 establishes the apex court and guarantees institutional independence through high appointment thresholds and near-impenetrable tenure security.

Retirement age fixed at sixty-five years.
Appointment via constitutional collegium/consultation framework.
Stringent qualifications: High Court bench experience, legal practice, or distinguished jurist.
Rigorous impeachment barrier: Requires special majorities in both Houses in the same session.
Post-retirement bar on domestic legal practice.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges. (2) Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years: Provided that in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted: Provided further that— (a) a Judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office; (b) a Judge may be removed from his office in the manner provided in clause (4). (2A) The age of a Judge of the Supreme Court shall be determined by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law provide. (3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court unless he is a citizen of India and— (a) has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or (b) has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or (c) is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. Explanation I.—In this clause "High Court" means a High Court which exercises, or which at any time before the commencement of this Constitution exercised, jurisdiction in any part of the territory of India. Explanation II.—In computing for the purpose of this clause the period during which a person has been an advocate, any period during which a person has held judicial office not inferior to that of a district judge after he became an advocate shall be included. (4) A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by 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 the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. (5) Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehaviour or incapacity of a Judge under clause (4). (6) Every person appointed to be a Judge of the Supreme Court shall, before he enters upon his office, make and subscribe before the President, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule. (7) No person who has held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court shall plead or act in any court or before any authority within the territory of India.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part V, Article 124, printed pages 57–58 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource