Law Minister Rijiju Writes to CJI Requesting Panels with Govt Representatives to Advise Collegium on Appointment of Judges

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 17th Jan. In a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju proposed including a government representative in the “search-cum-evaluation committee” that will provide input on “suitable candidates” to the appointment panel or the collegium. He pointed out that the finalization of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) regarding appointment of judges is still “pending.”

According to the minister’s letter, a search-cum-evaluation committee at the High Court level would include a state government nominee as well as a central government nominee, while a similar committee at the Supreme Court level would include a central government representative.

The letter was sent on the same day that a top court bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul expressed “extreme concern” about the government’s inaction on ten cases involving the transfer of judges.

The letter discusses how the appointment system can be “streamlined” and recommends that the CJI form a search-cum-evaluation panel. According to Supreme Court sources, the collegium has yet to deliberate on the letter.

According to sources familiar with the development, the search-cum-evaluation committee will consolidate data on advocates — including inputs on their performance as lawyers — and if there are any complaints pending against them, and then forward it to the collegium, which will make the final decision on appointments.

The High Court collegium is led by the Chief Justice of the relevant HC and consists of the top two judges following her/him. The Supreme Court collegium for HC appointments is led by the Chief Justice and includes the two most senior judges in the hierarchy. However, the panel for appointments to the Supreme Court is a body of five judges led by the CJI and comprised of four senior-most judges.

The appointment mechanism outlined in the MoP currently does not include a search-cum-evaluation committee.

However, the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) verdict from 2015 mentioned a secretariat in the Supreme Court (SC) to compile a database of suitable lawyers who could be considered for elevation. The verdict had advised both the central government and Supreme Court collegium to modify the MoP to “refine the appointment process”.

The MoP, on the other hand, has remained a source of contention between the two institutions.

While the Modi government believes that the MoP should be finalized as per the NJAC judgment, the judiciary has stated that the existing MoP is the “law of the land” and should be followed.