Turmoil in higher judiciary : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Turmoil in higher judiciary

The higher judiciary could have done without another distraction in the form of government differing with the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation for the appointment of two judges.

Turmoil in higher judiciary


The higher judiciary could have done without another distraction in the form of government differing with the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation for the appointment of two judges. The Centre has no beef with one appointment but has dragged its feet on the elevation of Uttarakhand Chief Justice CJ Joseph. In the past too, the government has segregated the appointment to high courts and the Supreme Court. What is extraordinary is the current divisive and vitiated atmosphere in which the Centre announced its preferences: the Vice-President has turned down an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) while four senior judges have questioned the CJI’s allocation of cases with far-reaching consequences to junior judges and Benches.

The rift between the executive and the judiciary over judicial appointments is not of recent vintage. Neither is the gripe by some senior judges against the CJI. But the politician’s intervention in the form of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s explanation may have further muddied the waters. The government did well to disclose its position on judicial appointments, just like it kept itself away from the internal conflict in the judiciary. But the minister’s attempt to gain the upper hand in the narrative may have led to indiscretions that can cast a long shadow on the institution in the longer term. 

Appointments to the apex court have studiously avoided any spotlight on regional and caste considerations. But the minister chose to justify the government’s disapproval of Justice CJ Joseph’s elevation on the basis of more-than-adequate representation to Kerala. This has the potential to open up a Pandora’s box and may invite much more scrutiny from the politician into the affairs of the Supreme Court than is warranted. The time has come for the Supreme Court to rise up to the challenge confronting its credibility as a republican institution. One proposal is to thrash out the differences in a full court meeting of all the Supreme Court judges. Whatever be its chosen course, the judiciary owes it to the esteem it enjoys in society to end its internal state of ferment.

Top News

High alert across Uttar Pradesh after gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's death

High alert across Uttar Pradesh after gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's death

Umar Ansari alleged that his father was subjected to slow po...

Mukhtar Ansari was subjected to slow poisoning in jail: Son

Mukhtar Ansari was subjected to slow poisoning in jail: Son

Ansari's post-mortem to be conducted in UP by panel of five ...

Enforcement Directorate wants AAP's Lok Sabha poll strategy details from Arvind Kejriwal's phone: Atishi

Enforcement Directorate wants AAP's Lok Sabha poll strategy details from Arvind Kejriwal's phone: Atishi

Says actually it is the BJP and not the ED that wants to kno...

PM Modi in conversation with Bill Gates, says India has democratised technology, aims to end digital divide

PM Modi, in conversation with Bill Gates, says India has democratised technology, aims to end digital divide

Says tech can play big role in agriculture, education, healt...


Cities

View All