The Supreme Court of India building in New Delhi.
The government has said that starting today, how India's judges are chosen has been changed.
The government has notified a law passed last year which comes into effect now. The move is likely to be seen as confrontationist, since the Supreme Court is hearing a case that seeks to have the law declared unconstitutional.
The notification issued today says judges will be chosen by the National Judicial Appointments Commission - a team of six members that includes the Chief Justice of India, the two most senior judges of the Supreme Court, two eminent persons, and the Law Minister.
The two eminent Indians will be chosen in turn by the Chief Justice, the PM and the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.
For nearly two decades, judges have been appointed or transferred by a collegium - a group of five senior judges.
The new law - passed last year by parliament - has been challenged in the Supreme Court by a cluster of petitioners including advocates and one of India's most eminent jurists, Fali Nariman who represents one of the petitioners . Mr Nariman has been critical of the new law because he says it demolishes the independence of the judiciary by allowing the government a big role in selecting judges.
The next hearing in the Supreme Court is fixed for Wednesday.
The government has said that parliament's right to decide laws cannot be impeded upon in court.