The Central government has accepted some recommendations of the Supreme Court collegium on draft memorandum of procedures for appointment of judges, while reinforcing its views regarding certain other key clauses on which the collegium had earlier raised objections.
The government has, in its recent communication to the collegium, agreed to lift the proposed cap on the number of jurists and lawyers for appointment as judges in the Supreme Court. The draft sent to the Chief Justice of India in March had recommended that up to three judges from among jurists and lawyers could be appointed.
While the government had earlier proposed merit-cum-seniority as the criterion for elevation of judges, only seniority is now being considered to be the main condition.
However, the government has not changed its stand on the proposed clause under which it will have powers to reject any candidate recommended by the collegium on grounds of public interest and national security. The collegium had earlier rejected the proposal. The revised draft proposes that the government will communicate to the collegium the reasons for rejecting any name recommended by it.
CJI’s poserLast week, the CJI had asked in open court whether the Centre wanted to bring the judiciary to a grinding halt given the delays in appointment of judges as per the collegium system.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was fast-tracking the process of filling judicial vacancies.
