Noting that "we are all on one side in this", the Supreme Court on Monday took the first snip in ripping apart the Collegium iron curtain by handing over the baton to the government and senior lawyers to compile a final draft of suggestions to usher in transparency into the much-smeared but still operational mechanism of Collegium judges appointing judges of higher courts.
The Constitution Bench led by Justice J.S. Khehar, which struck down the NJAC law, said they have received an "unimaginable" number of suggestions from various quarters after the majority judges on the five-judge bench expressed misgivings about the two-decade-old Collegium system and invited suggestions to improve the manner in which judges are appointed to the higher courts.
"The diversity is tremendous, unimaginable. We cannot ourselves say we accept this suggestion or that other. Instead it would be better if someone from both sides (petitioners who challenged the NJAC and the government) compile these suggestions for us," Justice Khehar said.
The Bench said the compilation should feature suggestions filtered on four basic parameters for the future functioning of the Collegium system.
First, how the Collegium can be made transparent; Two, the eligibility criteria to be fixed for persons to be considered suitable for appointment as a judge; Three, a mechanism to receive and deal with complaints against judges without compromising on judicial independence; Four, whether a separate secretartar is required, and if so, its functioning, composition and powers.
Senior advocate Arvind Dattu and Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand have been designated to compile the suggestions and submit the compilation by Thursday amidst protests from certain lawyers that the court is curtailing an opportunity to join in the consultative process.
In what was almost a shouting match, some lawyers criticised the bench for hurrying through what they considered a historic moment to bring transparency in judicial appointments.
They suggested that public comments should instead be invited on the official website so that even "a man from Kanyakumari" gets a chance to participate.
Appearing for the main petitioner who challenged the NJAC law, Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association, senior advocate Fali Nariman told the bench that Collegium's job of appointing judges should no longer be a "part-time job but a full-time one".
