Know your judiciary - The Constitutional Bench

Evolution of justice amidst a world which finds the ways to escape long hands of justice is enthralling. The time spent to trick the judiciary if used to understand the underneath basics which is nothing but to make this world better place for everyone was followed then most of the unnecessary sufferings might have been put on hold.

When we speak about justice in India, we cannot avoid the exclusivity of the royal heads whose words forms the basis of justice to then ruled people. Then came the panchayats where a group of village heads (basically from dominant caste) would decide the terms of justice to the victims.

With the arrival of British, judiciary found its relevance in the form of court rooms. There are many court room dramas which have even been adapted in films to upgrade the way justice was viewed by the people who were till then only passive players when it comes to seeking impartial justice.

Highest level of justice in country to disperse most of complicated cases of judiciary is delivered through constitutional benches.

A Constitution Bench is a bench of the Supreme Court having five or more judges on it. These benches are not a routine phenomenon. A vast majority of cases before the Supreme Court are heard and decided by a bench of two judges (called a Division Bench), and sometimes of three. Constitution Benches are exceptions, set up only if one or more of the following circumstances exist: 

1. The case involves a substantial question of law pertaining to the interpretation of the Constitution [see Article 145(3) of the Constitution, which mandates that such matters be heard by a bench of not less than five judges];
2. The President of India has sought the Supreme Court’s opinion on a question of fact or law under Article 143 of the Constitution [again, see Article 145(3)]; 
3. Two or more three-judge benches of the Supreme Court have delivered conflicting judgments on the same point of law, thus warranting a definitive pronouncement by a larger bench; 
4. A later three-judge bench doubts the correctness of a judgment delivered by a previous three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, and decides to refer the case to a larger bench for a reconsideration of that earlier judgment.

Presently, Constitution Benches are set up on an ad hoc basis as and when the need arises. The idea behind a Constitution Bench is clear: it is constituted in rare cases to decide important questions of fact or legal and/or constitutional interpretation.

Having seen such a sophisticated setup in delivery of justice to the needy it is still a misfortune when a judge says that he was delivering the justice on behalf of God which nowhere makes a mention in the Constitution or the law books only demonstrating that we as a civilization have never been freed from the shackles of seeking God externally.