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The Indian Constitution has ensured the independence of the
judiciary through a number of measures. The legislature is not involved in
the process of appointment of judges. Thus, it was believed that party
politics would not play a role in the process of appointments. In order to be
appointed as a judge, a person must have experience as a lawyer and/or
must be well versed in law. Political opinions of the person or his/ her
political loyalty should not be the criteria for appointments to judiciary. The
judges have a fixed tenure. They hold office till reaching the age of
retirement. Only in exceptional cases, judges may be removed. But they
have security of tenure. Security of tenure ensures that judges could
function without fear or favors. The Constitution prescribes a very difficult
procedure for removal of judges. The Constitution makers believed that a
difficult procedure of removal would provide security of office to the
members of judiciary.
The judiciary is not financially dependent on either the executive or
legislature. The Constitution provides that the salaries and allowances of
the judges are not subjected to the approval of the legislature. The actions
and decisions of the judges are immune from personal criticisms. The
judiciary has the power to penalize those who are found guilty of contempt
of court. This authority of the court is seen as an effective protection to the
judges from unfair criticism. Parliament cannot discuss the conduct of the
judges except when the proceeding to remove a judge is being carried out.
This gives the judiciary independence to adjudicate without fear of being
criticized. The appointment of judges has never been free from political
controversy. It is part of the political process.
Besides this, no organ of the government can act in a manner that
violates them. As we shall study below in this chapter, judiciary has the
powers and responsibility to protect the fundamental rights from violations
by actions of the government.