In Brief
A lawyer and self-described public-interest litigant sought a mandamus directing the Supreme Court to adopt specific rules for constituting benches, prescribing that three-judge benches include the Chief Justice and two senior-most judges, and constitutional benches consist only of senior-most judges. He also sought creation of specialized divisional courts. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, holding that the Chief Justice's authority to constitute benches and allocate cases is an exclusive constitutional prerogative that cannot be fettered by mandamus or predetermined rules. All appointed judges possess equal competence regardless of seniority. The Court reaffirmed that institutional efficiency and independence require vesting this discretionary authority in the Chief Justice as head of the Court.
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