The correct answer is This system started in the year 2007. Explanation & Key Takeaways: • This system started in the year 2007. • This is Incorrect: The collegium system did not start in 2007. • It evolved through judicial decisions in three landmark cases known as the Three Judges Cases: • First Judges Case (1981): The executive had primacy in judicial appointments. • Second Judges Case (1993): The judiciary established its primacy by creating the collegium system for judicial appointments. • Third Judges Case (1998): Expanded the collegium to include the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. • Thus, the collegium system became functional in 1993, not 2007. Related Concepts: Collegium system: • It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the Supreme Court, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution. • The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the CJI (Chief Justice of India) and comprises four other senior-most judges of the court. • Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system and the government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.