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34. The nature of control of the High Courts over the
judiciary again was elaborately considered by Constitution
Bench of this Court in State of Bihar and Another Versus Bal
Mukund sah and Others, (2000) 4 SCC 640. The Constitution
Bench again reiterated that the Judicial independence is the
very essence and basic structure of the Constitution. In
paragraph 34 and 35, following has been held:
"34. It has also to be kept in view that
judicial independence is the very essence and
basic structure of the Constitution. We may also
usefully refer to the latest decision of the
Constitution Bench of this Court in
Registrar(Admn.), High Court of Orissa v. Sisir
Kanta Satapathy wherein K.Venkataswami, J.,
speaking for the Constitution Bench, made the
following pertinent observations in the very first
two paras regarding Articles 233 to 235 of the
Constitution of India;
"An independent Judiciary is one of the basic
features of the Constitution of the Republic.
Indian Constitution has zealously guarded
independence of Judiciary is doubtless a basic
structure of the Constitution but the said concept
of independence has to be confined within the four
corners of the Constitution and cannot go beyond
the Constitution.”
The Constitution Bench in the aforesaid decision
also relied upon the observations of this Court in
All India Judges Assn. wherein on the topic of
regulating the service conditions of the Judiciary
as permitted by Article 235 read with Article 309,
it had been observed as under; (SCC p.297, para