Amid the dispute between the judiciary and the government over the appointment of judges, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said on Saturday that not all systems are perfect, but the current Collegium system is the “best” mechanism developed by the judiciary to maintain its independence.
Justice Chandrachud strongly defended the Collegium system of judges appointing judges to higher courts while speaking at the India Today Conclave, 2023, just hours after Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju in the same forum again criticized the selection process. , affirming that according to the Constitution the appointment of judges is the duty of the government. Rijiju also said that the appointment of judges was not judicial work but “purely administrative in nature.”
Justice Chandrachud’s predecessor, Justice UU Lalit, also supported the Collegium process, saying it was the “ideal system”, while another former CJI SA Bobde favored the primacy of the judiciary but was of the opinion that government opinion it was vital. The two former CJI also spoke at the same event
“As Chief Justice, I have to take the system as we’ve been given… I’m not saying all systems are perfect, but this is the best system we’ve ever developed. The object of this system was to maintain independence, which is a cardinal value. We have to insulate the judiciary from outside influences if the judiciary is to be independent. That is the underlying characteristic of Collegium,” Judge Chandrachud said.
Raising questions about the Collegium system, Rijiju said it is the result of the “misadventure” of the Congress party.
On the issue of the appointment of judges, Rijiju said that the judiciary as such does not have the role of starting and ending the appointment of judges.
“It was only later due to the misadventure of the Congress party that the Supreme Court began to act in what some people describe as judicial overreach. Then the college system was born.”
But right now, the government’s position is very clear that the college system is in place, he said.
“As long as a new system is not introduced, we will follow the collegium system, but the appointment of judges cannot be done by court order. It is purely administrative.” Rijiju said it is the government’s inescapable duty to carry out due diligence on the names recommended by the college. “Otherwise, I will be sitting there as postmaster. Second, under the Constitution, the appointment of judges is the duty of the government,” he observed.
In response to questions about the government’s relations with the judiciary, Rijiju said that it would not be appropriate to use the word “confrontation” to describe their relationship.
“In a democratic environment there are differences of opinions and positions. “Among the different bodies, the executive, the judicial and the legislative, there will be issues that go against the ideas of others. But to say that there is a confrontation is not correct, ”he said.
On the subject of the Supreme Court College making public intelligence reports regarding some recommended candidates for the post of high court judge, Rijiju wondered what is the sanctity of carrying out such a huge effort in secret in interest of the nation if the R&AW or IB reports are placed in the public domain.
“I am aware of my responsibility. I will never put information in the public domain that does not serve the purpose for which we are sitting there,” she said.
The CJI also responded to Rijiju by expressing its dissatisfaction that the Collegium revealed the government’s reasons for not approving the names recommended by him for appointment as constitutional court judges.
“He has a perception. I have a perception and surely there will be a difference of perceptions. And what’s wrong with having a difference in perceptions. We have to deal with perceptions even within the judiciary. I dare say that there is a difference of perception within the government. But we all face it with a robust statesman’s sense.
“I do not want to join problems with the Minister of Justice for his perception. I respect his perception and I’m sure he respects ours as well. The reason we put this on the SC website is the current Collegium’s desire to respond to criticism that we lack transparency and a genuine belief that opening up processes will foster greater trust in citizens,” he said. Judge Chandrachud.
Judge Lalit emphasized that the collegium system allows for the selection of judges by a body that is reviewing performance on the “bases” and the recommendation process by the higher court body is done through a consultative route.
When recommending a judge, not only performance is considered, but also the opinion of other judges, as well as the IB report, and a new appointment regime can only be “established in a manner known by law,” he said.
“According to me, the college system is the ideal system… You have people whose full profile is seen by the high court. Not by 1-2 people but by repeatedly as an institution. Likewise, the lawyers who practice before the high courts; the judges that make up the body see their performances every day. So who is supposed to be best positioned to see the merit of the talent? Someone sitting as an executive here or someone watching the performance at the grassroots level, say in Kochi or Manipur or Andhra or Ahmedabad?” she said.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
