It remains to be seen how far an internal mechanism like the collegium can reform itself (“Shared responsibility,” Editorial, Oct.22). In the end, it will still be an all-judges body unless the Supreme Court accommodates civil society representatives in some way. A judgment need not necessarily be the final word on anything. In its response, the government should propose a reformed National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) to address the concerns of the judiciary. For instance, a nominee from the Bar can replace the Law Minister in a revamped NJAC. Lawyers are better judges of judges than a politician or an intellectual and can effectively flag any adverse selection. The Constitution bench has to realise that the collegium has lost its credibility. The argument that independence of the judiciary can be preserved only if judges appoint themselves seems too credulous to merit public acceptance.
However, since unfilled vacancies of judges will aggravate the pendency of cases, the government should accept the recommendations of the collegium till the impasse is resolved amicably.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
The present day collegium System is much better than the NJAC. I can only recall the well-known Biblical analogy that a doubting Thomas is better than an untrustworthy Judas. However, the judiciary needs to incorporate sufficient checks and balances to bring about improvements. Let the collegium system with all its inherent and inborn deficiencies and defects prevail and continue as a necessary evil as the only trustworthy hope of the commoners in the present day, untrustworthy political system.
G. John,
Dehradun
