Adhere to law for appointment of judges: Supreme Court takes exception to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's statement

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28

Taking exception to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s reported statement that the Collegium could issue notification for judges’ appointment if it thought the government was sitting over its recommendations, the Supreme Court on Monday asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to ensure that the law was followed.

Timelines not met, we’re anguished

Most of the names recommended have crossed the four-month limit... Names are not being cleared. How can the system work? We have expressed our anguish… Bench

Act against striking lawyers, BCI told

New Delhi: Expressing strong displeasure over the agitation by members of Bar associations in some districts of Odisha, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Bar Council of India (BCI) to take appropriate action, including suspension of licences, against striking lawyers.

“Names are not being cleared. How can the system work? We have expressed our anguish. It appears that the government is unhappy that the NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014) did not pass muster... Can that be the reason not to clear the names for so long?” a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked the Attorney General.

“If today the government says it will not adhere to the law of the land then tomorrow someone will not adhere to another part. You must think of the larger picture, Mr Attorney,” the Bench told Venkataramani. “Never say that the government is sitting on files. Don’t send files to the government then… you appoint yourself, you run the show,” Rijiju had told a TV channel last week. After being told about the Law Minister’s statement, the Bench said it had chosen to ignore what had been published in newspapers. “Mr AG, I have ignored all press reports, but this has come from somebody high enough... I am not saying anything else. If we have to, we will take a decision,” Justice Kaul noted.

“Timelines have been laid out... you have to adhere to it... So many cases are pending. Good people must join the Bench and the timeline has to be adhered to unless there is an exception. Most of the names recommended have crossed the four-month limit. There has been no information to us,” Justice Kaul told the Attorney General.

Expressing anguish over the Centre sitting over the Collegium’s recommendations for judicial appointments, the top court requested the Attorney General and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure the government followed the law and expedited the process to fill judicial vacancies.

“We expect the SG (Solicitor General) and the AG (Attorney General) to ensure that the law of the land laid down by this court is followed...You think I am not bothered, I am, deeply. I expect the government to listen to the AG and SG,” it said.

The Bench – which was hearing a petition filed by the Advocates’ Association Bengaluru, alleging “wilful disobedience” of the time frame laid down to facilitate timely appointment of judges in the court’s April 20, 2021, order — posted the matter for December 8 after the Attorney General said he would talk to the government and try to resolve the issue.

“I can show you how to add on to the credibility of the process,” Venkataramani told the Bench.

It also objected to the “pick and choose” policy adopted by the government. “Sometimes when you (Centre) appoint, you pick up a name from the list and not others. What you do is effectively disrupting the seniority. When the Collegium takes a decision, it takes into consideration various factors, including seniority,” Justice Kaul told the AG.

Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior counsel Vikas Singh requested the Bench to issue contempt proceedings against the government. “Fair enough, if the AG is saying he is looking into it. The SG and AG are both here and thus double-barrel should work. You must understand the anxiety…,” the Bench said.

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