Working to lay down objective criteria to pick Supreme Court judges: CJI Chandrachud
CJI pointed out that the collegium, which comprises the first five judges in the apex court, now have access to data on the judges, their judgments.
Stressing on institutionalising the system of appointing judges by laying down objective parameters, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Friday that the Supreme Court collegium has collected data of the top 50 judges in the country who would be considered for future appointments in the top court.
Read here: Supreme Court seeks Centre, high courts' view on hybrid hearing
Speaking at the Centenary Ram Jethmalani Memorial Lecture, justice Chandrachud acknowledged that one of the chief criticisms of the collegium pertained to lack of factual data before it to evaluate candidates being considered for appointments.“I want to share some steps we have taken. It is a work-in-progress, but we are improving. With the help of Centre of Research and Planning (CRP), we have prepared a broad platform where we have assessed the top 50 judges in the country who would be considered for appointment to the Supreme Court,” said the CJI.
Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the collegium, which comprises the first five judges in the apex court, now have access to data on the judges, their judgments and the quality of such judgments.
“The idea is to make the process of recommending appointments to the Supreme Court more transparent...Not by sharing our discussions in the public realm, which we obviously cannot do. But by laying down objective parameters for selection to the Supreme Court,” he said.
Underlining that his first goal as the CJI has been to institutionalise the courts and move away from an ad-hoc model of operation, he said, “One of the important effects of institutionalising courts is that it enhances transparency and accountability. Too often individuals come and lay down ideas only to be forgotten, when they pass on the baton to the next person. Institutionalizing courts enhances transparency and accountability.”
According to the CJI, institutionalisation, in addition to enhancing transparency, also humanises the workspace. “The staff are able to draw boundaries between work and home and increase their work efficiency...Changes don’t come easy. But it is a change worth making for enhancement of the justice delivery system,” he added.
In his address, justice Chandrachud also touched upon the measures the top court took to function optimally during the Covid pandemic. “We have implemented filing of cases in electronic form, submission of urgent listing etc...My focus is also on reducing barriers to accessing the courts, easing the process of filing and arguing before the court. My focus is on improving the gender ratio of lawyers. My focus is on ensuring that lawyers and litigants have facilities to comfortably rest while at courts. It is only with such a holistic approach that the quality of justice delivery could be enhanced in every sense of the word,” he said.
Speaking affectionately about late Jethmalani, an eminent lawyer and a former Union minister, the CJI said that Jethmalani’s legacy endures not only because of his unparalleled mastery over the law but also due to his relentless pursuit for justice through legal and constitutional means. “He was a luminary who left a profound and lasting contribution to the field of law...He recognised the deep inequalities which plagued the society and was deeply concerned about the injustices meted out to the common citizen,” he said.
At the event, former CJI Dipak Misra spoke on the topic ‘Has the basic structure doctrine served the nation well’, emphasising that the basic structure doctrine stabilises constitutional governance and rule of law. “Let it be told today that it is one that is directed against anarchy. It has basically acted as a navigational compass for judges in their constitutional interpretation and guided their progress,” he said.
The historic 1973 judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati Case evolved the doctrine of basic structure, laying down that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution but cannot tinder with its basic structure – a check on the executive and the legislative powers of the government.
In April, CJI Chandrachud had said that there cannot be any justification for the collegium to keep even a single vacancy unfilled in the Supreme Court, as he announced involving CRP, the in-house think tank of the top court, in the process of preparing a list of probables for future appointments in the top court.
CRP, he announced, has now been tasked to assist the permanent secretariat in the top court, which deals with various aspects of judicial appointments, including collection of information, preparation of records and putting them up before the collegium. The CJI said that CRP has been directed to collect data of the top 50 judges in the country for selection as future Supreme Court judges.
Read here: Former judges among 200 urge CJI to take action on Udhayanidhi’s ‘hate’ remarks
The announcement by the CJI to involve CRP in the process of shortlisting candidates had come in April, three months after the Union government wrote to justice Chandrachud expressing the need to have a search-cum-evaluation committee (SEC) for bringing in more transparency and objectivity in the process of judicial appointments. The CJI or the collegium is yet to respond to the January 6 letter by the government.
CRP was set up in the Supreme Court in 2018 by the then CJI, Ranjan Gogoi, to strengthen the knowledge infrastructure of Supreme Court. Apart from research, CRP is mandated to focus on outreach that will include explaining key decisions of the SC as well as its contributions to law and justice, and on the working of courts.
