The Collegium-Plus Design

The existing five-judge Supreme Court Collegium retains full appointing authority. A new Judicial Appointments Transparency Council (JATC) operates alongside it in a purely advisory capacity.

JATC Composition. Retired Chief Justice (Chair, selected by former CJIs); CAG; Chief Election Commissioner; two eminent civil-society persons selected by parliamentary committee requiring 75% majority. Law Minister: observer status only — no vote, no advisory opinion on specific candidates.

Process.

• Collegium identifies candidates → JATC publishes structured assessment within 30 days (judicial record, diversity metrics, bar representations).
• If JATC recommends against, Collegium must reconsider or publish reasons for proceeding.
• All assessments and responses are public; collegium dissents are published alongside.
• President appoints on collegium recommendation as before — Articles 124 and 217 are not amended.

Additional reforms. Geographic diversity (max 35% SC judges from any single regional High Court); gender targets (30% women by 2032, 40% by 2038); 12-year term limits for SC judges.

This design survives the Supreme Court because the Collegium retains primacy, JATC is structurally advisory with no veto, and the Law Minister has no binding role. The Court in 2015 explicitly directed the government to finalise transparency mechanisms — JATC is the constitutional version of what the Court asked for.