SCBA writes to CJI, Law Minister seeking reforms in judicial appointment process

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has urged Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to finalise the memorandum of procedure (MoP) and put in place a “transparent, equitable, and merit-driven” framework for appointment of judges in the top court and high courts.

In a letter written to the CJI and the Law Minister on September 12, SCBA president and senior advocate Vikas Singh pointed out that the Supreme Court had already laid down a reform blueprint for revising the MoP and that these directions were not merely aspirational but actionable, and any further delay in implementing them was “indefensible”.

Proposing reforms in the MoP, the SCBA president said permanent secretariats should be set up in every high court and in the Supreme Court to maintain data on candidates and vacancies, and to ensure institutional memory.

The MoP should contain the provision to publish objective criteria, covering minimum age, years of practice, reported judgments, and pro bono work, for evaluating candidates before their elevation to higher judiciary, he added.

Singh flagged structural flaws in the collegium system and said that delays in reform undermined both judicial integrity and public confidence.

“The prevailing collegium mechanism, while designed to preserve judicial independence, has inadvertently created significant challenges. Its structural flaws demand urgent and comprehensive correction.

“First, it arbitrarily ignores the vast talent pool within the Supreme Court Bar for elevation to their respective home state high courts. These practitioners, whose exposure to national jurisprudence should be viewed as a superior qualification, are being systematically overlooked. This not only wastes valuable judicial talent but also undermines the core principle merit-based selection,” Singh said.

He also highlighted “troubling” under-representation of women in judiciary. “This is not an abstract concern but a reality borne out by hard data. As of February 2024, women constituted merely 9.5 per cent of the sanctioned strength in high courts and a stark 2.94 per cent in the Supreme Court. This is a glaring indictment of systemic exclusion, where the tyranny of a presumed meritocracy masks a deeper reliance on informal networks and patronage,” he wrote.

On ‘marginalisation’ of briefing lawyers, the SCBA president said the existing process focused almost exclusively on arguing counsels while ignoring briefing lawyers and juniors, who are often the “unseen architects” of litigation.

“To elevate only the visible face is to perpetuate a flawed understanding of competence,” he wrote.

Demanding a transparent application-based process, Singh said, “The current informal system must be replaced with a formal process where applications are invited publicly. This ensures every deserving candidate, including those from the Supreme Court Bar, is considered on demonstrable merit through a structured mechanism.”