Which of the statements is/are correct about the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court:

1. Only President of India has the power to set up a Constitution bench.

2. Supreme Court (SC) recently said it is considering having a sign language interpreter for the hearing impaired during Constitution bench hearings.

3. If a case is likely to have a larger national impact or it is likely to decide the law for good, a constitution bench is formed.

Solution

The Supreme Court (SC) recently said it is considering having a sign language interpreter for the hearing impaired during Constitution bench hearings.

Generally, most of the cases before the SC are heard by a division bench (2 or 3 judge members).

If a case is likely to have a larger national impact or it is likely to decide the law for good, a constitution bench is formed.

Article 145(3) of the Constitution makes it clear. It says “any case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution” must be decided by a Bench of at least five judges.

Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will have five or more judges of the SC.

To date, the largest-ever Constitution Bench was that of 13 judges in the case Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala.

Who forms the Constitution bench 

The Chief Justice of India has the power to set up a Constitution bench, and he is the one who refers cases to it.

A bench can be formed if the President seeks SC’s opinion on a law or fact.

A Constitution bench can be formed when a two-judge bench and later a three-judge bench deliver conflicting judgements on the same issue.

it can be formed if a three-judge bench delivers a judgement that is different from the judgement delivered by a previous three-judge bench on an issue.