Article 143: What are constitution benches; when and why are they formed

Article 143 of the Indian Constitution defines the conditions in which a constitution bench can be formed

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) of India referred a case related to framing the uniform rules around capital punishment to a constitution bench. The SC stated that it is necessary owing to differences in various judgements on the issue of the validity of the death penalty.

What is a constitution bench?

A constitution bench is a bench consisting of five or more judges of the Supreme Court that is set up to decide a case based on the interpretation of the Constitution. In India, these benches are temporary and are dissolved once a legal question or issue is resolved.