| NEW DELHI:
HIGHLIGHTS
Appointment of over 400 judges caught in tussle over procedure
Government wants merit and seniority to be appointment criteria
Judiciary wants existing emphasis on seniority and merit to continue
A panel of the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court has rejected a move to give the government a greater say in the appointment of judges, sources told NDTV.
The appointment of more than 400 judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts across the country has been caught in a tussle between the judiciary and the government over the procedure.
Recently, Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and former law minister Sadananda Gowda met Chief Justice TS Thakur to sort out the differences.
After the meeting, sources told NDTV that the judges' panel or collegium -- comprising Chief Justice of India Justice TS Thakur and four senior judges -- discussed the government's recommendations and rejected it.
The government wants merit and seniority to be the criteria for appointing Judges. But the judiciary is opposed to it and wants the existing practice of seniority combined with merit to continue
The other sticking points - rejection of candidates on grounds of national security, involvement of retired judges in appointment of judges and the participation of Attorney General and Advocate General of states -- all these points have been rejected by the Collegium, sources said.
The top court had set aside the law, which provided for a bigger role for the government in the appointment of Judges and had a provision that said the government would work out a procedure along with the Chief Justice of India. Now that procedure, called the Memorandum of Appointment, is running into trouble.
Sources told NDTV that the government wants to bring the points raised in the rejected law through the backdoor by these procedures and it would affect the independence of judiciary
Mr Ravishankar Prasad, who took over today as the new Law Minister, told NDTV: "I don't want to go into specifics. Consultations are on. The government is willing to work in harmony with the judiciary and appoint the right persons as judges." |