Seldom, if at all, do the proponents as well as the opponents of the vexed collegium system delve much into the antecedents of its coming into being. So, here we go; first, in pursuance of a committed judiciary, it was Justice AN Ray’s elevation, by the supersession of three senor most Supreme Court judges in 1973, followed by the side-lining of Justice HR Khanna in 1977 for having been the sole defender of the citizen’s right to life and liberty during India’s infamous internal emergency. Then, adding insult to injury was the 1980 direct induction of Justice Baharul Islam, the