Opinion February 7, 1983, Forty Years Ago: A Collegium of judges for appointments is proposed
The committee was of the view that executive control or interference in the matter of appointment of judges impaired judicial independence and should be eliminated. The question was how.
The front page of The Indian Express on February 7, 1983. More than 60 judges of the high courts and the Supreme Court and several other leaders of the legal profession suggested a collegium of judges for appointment to the higher judiciary.
The committee, which studied the question of independence of judiciary at the silver jubilee conference of the Indian Law Institute in New Delhi, was of the view that executive control or interference in the matter of appointment of judges impaired judicial independence and should be eliminated. The question was how.
The committee which discussed the issues threadbare favoured the idea of collegium consisting of the Chief Justice and two or three senior judges arriving at the decision.
The article on a proposed collegium was titled ‘Judges collegium for higher judiciary urged’.
Assam riots: The Brahmaputra Valley saw 10 more rounds of police firing in different places in the last 24 hours while reports of arson, sabotage and intimidation poured in at frequent intervals. But there were no fresh casualties.
Normal life continued to be badly hit on the second day of the 17-day non-cooperation movement launched by the AASU and AAGSP. Around Nalbari town in Kamrup district, serious communal disturbances erupted in the initial stages of the movement in 1980.
Delhi local polls: The Congress (I) attained an absolute majority in the 56-member Delhi Metropolitan Council, winning 29 of the 48 seats. The BJP, its main rival, was trailing with 16. The Lok Dal (C) had won only two and Janata one. With 78 results to the 100-member Municipal Corporation declared so far, the Congress (I) required only four more seats for an absolute majority having already bagged 47. The BJP was way behind with 27 seats and the Lok Dal had won only two. One seat each had been claimed by Janata and an independent.
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