Collegium System: The Supreme Court said on Thursday (December 8) that the already existing collegium system for the appointment of judges is the law of the country and it is not right to make statements against it. The court said that any law declared by it is ‘binding’ for all and the collegium system should be followed.
The Supreme Court was hearing a matter related to the alleged delay by the Center in approving the names sent by the collegium for appointment of judges to the courts. A bench headed by Justice SK Kaul said that the comments made by the people of the government on the collegium of the Supreme Court are not considered appropriate.
He asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to advise the government in this regard. The collegium system has been a point of contention between the Supreme Court and the central government, and the system of appointment of judges has been criticized by various quarters from the side of the judges themselves.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had said on November 25 that the collegium system was a ‘completely unfamiliar’ terminology to the Constitution. Justice AS Oka and Justice Vikram Nath were also included in the bench. The bench said that it expects the Attorney General to advise the government so that the legal principles laid down by the Supreme Court are followed. The Supreme Court said that the 19 names recommended by the collegium were sent back by the government recently. “How will this game of ‘ping-pong’ end?” asked the bench.
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Collegium system has to be implemented
The Supreme Court said, “As long as the collegium system is there, as long as it is there, we will have to implement it. You want to bring another law, no one is stopping you from bringing another law.” .
Justice Kaul said, “In the end, we can only say that the scheme of the Constitution expects the court to be the final arbiter on the position of law. It is the job of the Parliament to make laws. However, it depends on the investigation of the courts.
He said, “Any law declared by this court is binding on all stakeholders. I just want to indicate this.
The bench said that the court is troubled by the fact that many names are pending for months and years, including some which have been reiterated by the collegium. The bench said that when the collegium of the Supreme Court sends the name, it takes into account many things including seniority. The bench fixed the date of January 6 for further hearing in the matter.
Supreme Court angry on the delay from the center
On November 28, the Supreme Court expressed displeasure over the delay on the part of the Center in approving the names recommended by the collegium for the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. A bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice AS Oka said that the three-judge bench of the apex court had set a time-frame for completing the appointment process.
The bench said that time limit has to be followed. Justice Kaul said that it appears that the government is unhappy with the fact that the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act has not been approved, but this cannot be a reason for not accepting the rule of law of the country.
Deliberately delaying scheduled deadlines
The Supreme Court in its 2015 judgment struck down the NJAC Act and the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014, restoring the existing collegium system of judges appointing judges to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was hearing a petition alleging that the deadline set by the Supreme Court in its order of April 20 last year is being deliberately disobeyed for timely appointments.
Delay on the part of the Center in the appointment of judges
The Supreme Court had on November 11 expressed displeasure over the delay on the part of the Center in approving the names recommended for appointment as judges and said that keeping them pending was not acceptable. The bench had issued notice to the Secretary (Justice) and Additional Secretary (Administration and Appointments) of the Union Law Ministry seeking their response on the petition.
The petition, filed through advocate Pai Amit, on behalf of ‘Advocates Association Bengaluru’, raised the issue of inordinate delay in selection of names as well as appointment of judges in high courts. The petition mentioned 11 names which were recommended and later reiterated.
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