Collegium system not working, says law panel

It has been recommended that the Government should seek reconsideration of the three judgments of the Supreme Court, which support the collegium system of appointment, from the apex court itself. As an alternative, it has suggested, a law should be passed by

Parliament to restore the earlier system of primacy of the Chief Justice of India to recommend names for appointment to the higher judiciary in consultation with the executive.

Incidentally, the Commission chairman is himself a former judge of the Supreme Court.

Sources in the Law Commission said the Commission took a suo motu decision to undertake a study on the issue following a continuing controversy over the present collegium system and its effectiveness in choosing the best-possible to the post of a judge.

During the course of the study, the Commission also examined recommendations of the Parliament Standing Committee on the matter as well as the system prevailing in other countries. In the US, Australia, Canada and Kenya, the executive is the sole authority to appoint judges, either on its own or in consultation with the Chief Justice of the country.

Sometime back, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Personnel had also questioned the effectiveness of the collegium system as well as the “secret” manner in which the entire process of selection and appointment was handled by the collegium.

Committee chairman and Rajya Sabha MP E M Sudarsana Natchiappan had said there was a need to make appointments to higher judiciary transparent so that only deserving people made it to the Bench from among lawyers.

“Why is there so much secrecy? The public has every right to know how a lawyer was chosen for judgeship. Our Committee had recommended that at every stage — starting from names being considered by the collegium to issuance of warrants of appointment — the public should be aware,” Natchiappan said.