Yes your honour
The Supreme Court collegium has met the clamour for transparency in judicial appointments, by electing to make public its decisions and rationale behind the elevation of judges to SC and high courts. It is a proud moment in India's democratic evolution. The collegium's recommendations to elevate six candidates to Madras high court and three to Kerala high court, while finding four candidates unsuitable for Madras high court, are now open for perusal on the SC website. It is a landmark “resolution” because even those among the legal fraternity and general public who were uncomfortable with the (failed) executive attempt to seize primacy in judicial appointments through the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, were equally unhappy about a number of questionable collegium decisions.The collegium has now answered its supporters and critics in equal measure by demonstrating the capacity for self-reform. The uploaded matter reveals sitting SC judges who earlier served in Madras and Kerala high courts evaluating candidates, a Judgment Committee appraisal of the quality of their judgments, and Intelligence Bureau reports on their integrity. In making the recommendations public, great care has also been taken to strike a balance between transparency and privacy.
Those aspiring for public office cannot be immune to scrutiny and dissemination of their official record. In the long run such transparency without breaching privacy norms will ensure that only the best candidates apply for judicial positions. Of course the pivotal moment that precipitated this reform was Justice Jayant Patel's resignation from Karnataka high court, when he found he was to be transferred to Allahabad high court. Patel was at the cusp of being named Acting Chief Justice of Karnataka high court and just months away from retirement when he was unceremoniously transferred. Lawyers in Karnataka, Gujarat and Delhi protested the transfer.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra deserves unstinting praise for responding constructively to the protests. No less significant is the riveting irony that the collegium's biggest critic was an insider and member: Justice J Chelameswar. Many judges before Patel had found their paths blocked by inscrutable collegium decisions. More transparency will now beget more merit. Forging ahead with the overhaul the Centre must finalise the long-delayed Memorandum of Procedure and help fill the 387 vacancies in 24 high courts expeditiously.
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