Attendance of retired Judges at sittings of the Supreme Court

Article 107, Draft Constitution 1948

Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, the Chief Justice of India may at any time, subject to the provisions of this article, request any person who has held the office of a judge of the Supreme Court or of the Federal Court to sit and act as a judge of the Supreme Court, and every such person so requested shall, while so sitting and acting, have all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of, but shall not otherwise be deemed to be, a judge of that court:

Provided that nothing in this article shall be deemed to require any such person as aforesaid to sit and act as a judge of that court unless he consents so to do.

Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter, the Chief Justice of India may at any time, with the previous consent of the President, request any person who has held the office of a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the Federal Court to sit and act as a Judge of the Supreme Court, and every such person so requested shall, while so sitting and acting, be entitled to such allowances as the President may by order determine and have all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of, but shall not otherwise be deemed to be, a Judge of that Court:

⁠Provided that nothing in this article shall be deemed to require any such person as aforesaid to sit and act as a Judge of that Court unless he consents so to do.

Draft Article 107 (Article 128) was debated on 27 May 1949. It authorized retired judges of the Supreme Court or Federal Court to sit on the Supreme Court subject to the prescribed procedure.

One member proposed that the provision be amended to require the Chief Justice to obtain the consent of the President before requesting a retired judge to sit on the Supreme Court. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee responded positively to this amendment.

The amendment was accepted by the Assembly without debate. The amended Draft Article was adopted on 27 May 1949.