A parliamentary standing committee has picked holes in the present method of appointment of judges to higher judiciary, holding the collegium system guilty of non-adherence to the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges. It also stood by the proposal of the government that the judges panel should have a dedicated secretariat that processes proposals at the initial stage.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, in its report on the issue of filling up vacancies in the Supreme Court and the high courts, recorded that while deposing before the committee, the Justice Secretary had stated that governors and chief ministers were sometimes not consulted by the collegium. The high court collegium, when it sends recommendations for appointment to the Chief Justice of India and to the Department of Justice, is also expected to send the names to the governor. The governor, as advised by the chief minister, forwards his or her recommendation to the Centre.
The parliamentary committee noted that not consulting the governor and chief minister was not just a violation of the MoP, but it also bypassed the authorities. "Such a process only broad bases the consultation helping the selection of the appropriate candidate," the committee said, emphasising the role of executive authorities in the appointments.
At a time when the judiciary is locked in a tussle with the Centre with regard to framing of a new MoP, the committee has backed the government's proposal to have a secretariat for vetting proposals for appointments to the higher judiciary. It based this on the rejection rate by the Supreme Court collegium of names that are forwarded by the high court collegiums. The rejection rate ranges from 30 per cent to 100 per cent.
"In such a scenario, a dedicated secretariat may help in processing of proposals at the initial stage itself in order to avoid such large number of rejections at a later stage," the committee said, pointing out that the proposal for a secretariat has also been made in the judgment that struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission, a law for which was passed by Parliament.
The committee also said that many of the proposals of the government to bring greater transparency, objectivity and accountability were not accepted by the collegium.
"After more than one year, the revised MoP is yet to be finalised due to lack of consensus on several issues between the government and the judiciary," it noted.
