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The provision empowering the Supreme Court to frame its own rules of practice and procedure, and requiring at least five judges for constitutional questions.
Article 145 empowers the Supreme Court of India, subject to any law made by Parliament, to make rules regulating its own practice and procedure, with the approval of the President. These rules cover matters such as who may practise before the Court, the procedure for hearing appeals, the conditions for entertaining references, the award of costs and the grant of bail. The most examined part of the Article is clause (3), which requires that any case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution be decided by a bench of at least five judges. The rules currently in force are the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
Type: LawEmpowers the Supreme Court to frame rules regulating its own practice and procedure, with the President's approval
The rule-making power is subject to any law made by Parliament on the subject
Article 145(3) requires a minimum of five judges to decide a substantial question of law on the interpretation of the Constitution
The same five-judge minimum applies to a Presidential reference under Article 143
Judgments are to be delivered in open court, and dissenting opinions may be recorded
The rules currently operative are the Supreme Court Rules, 2013
Frequency: Constitutional provisions relating to the Supreme Court are a standing feature of UPSC Prelims polity
Article 145(1)
Empowers the Supreme Court to make rules on practice and procedure with the President's approval, subject to any law made by Parliament.
Article 145(3)
Requires a minimum of five judges to decide a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution, or a reference under Article 143.
Article 143
Empowers the President to refer a question of law or fact of public importance to the Supreme Court for its opinion.
Supreme Court Rules, 2013
The set of rules currently framed under Article 145 governing the Court's procedure; Order VI Rule 2 provides for referring matters to the Chief Justice to constitute a Constitution Bench.
The Supreme Court does not maintain a standing Constitution Bench. Matters are ordinarily listed before a division bench of two judges, or a three-judge bench, and only move to a larger bench when a constitutional question is identified.
Step 1: A case is listed before a division bench or a three-judge bench in the ordinary course
Step 2: The bench forms the view that the case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution
Step 3: Under Order VI Rule 2 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, the matter is referred to the Chief Justice of India
Step 4: The Chief Justice constitutes a Constitution Bench of five or more judges to hear and decide the question
Step 5: The judgment is pronounced in open court, and any judge who disagrees may record a dissenting opinion
Article 145 is the source of the Supreme Court's control over its own process, an important element of judicial independence: the Court sets the rules by which cases reach and are heard by it, rather than having them dictated by the executive. Clause (3) performs a different function — it protects the Constitution from being reinterpreted by small benches. Requiring at least five judges for constitutional questions builds deliberation and collective authority into constitutional adjudication. In practice the clause has generated a persistent debate, since much depends on when a bench chooses to characterise a question as 'substantial', and critics argue that significant constitutional issues are sometimes decided by two- and three-judge benches without being referred upward.
Article 145: Supreme Court's power to make rules of practice and procedure
Requires the approval of the President; subject to any law made by Parliament
Article 145(3): minimum five judges for substantial constitutional questions and Article 143 references
A bench of five or more judges is a Constitution Bench
The Supreme Court Rules, 2013, are currently in force
There is no permanent Constitution Bench; the Chief Justice of India constitutes one as needed
It empowers the Supreme Court to frame rules regulating its own practice and procedure, with the approval of the President and subject to any law made by Parliament.
At least five. Article 145(3) requires a minimum of five judges to decide any case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution.
No. Matters are first listed before smaller benches, and a Constitution Bench is constituted by the Chief Justice of India when a case is found to raise a substantial constitutional question.
The Supreme Court Rules, 2013, which govern the Court's procedure, including the reference of constitutional questions to larger benches.