TheSupreme Court of Indiais the country's highest judicial forum and court of last resort. It comprises the Chief Justice of India and 30 other judges, all of whom are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Chief Justice. The court has original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions. The Supreme Court has been accused of political bias by members of the ruling party as well as the Opposition. 

The court has, on several occasions, given judgments which have been seen as favourable to the government. 

• The Supreme Court has been accused of being politically biased by members of the public and political commentators. The accusation is that the cour

• t is influenced by the government of the day and is therefore not independent. 
• The Supreme Court has been accused of being too deferential to the executive branch of government and of not being independent enough. The court has been criticized for not taking a firm stand on issues of public importance such as the right to privacy, the right to freedom of expression, and the right to freedom of religion. 
• For instance, in 2015, the court quashed all criminal charges against Amit Shah, the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, in the alleged extra-judicial killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausarbi. 
• In 2016, the court ruled in favour of the government's decision to demonetise high-value currency notes. 
• The court has also been criticised for its handling of the Ayodhya dispute. The court is currently hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court's 2010 judgment, which had divided the disputed site between the Hindu and Muslim communities. The court has been accused of delaying the hearings in the case, which has been pending for seven years. 
• The Supreme Court has, on several occasions, given judgments which have been seen as favourable to the government. The court has been accused of political bias by members of the ruling party as well as the Opposition. 

The Supreme Court has always been an important institution in India and its decisions have always been eagerly awaited by the public. The court has been accused of being political only when it has taken decisions which have gone against the government of the day. The Supreme Court is not immune to criticism and it is not above criticism. But the accusation that it is politically biased is not borne out by the facts.