The judge’s remarks assume significance as they come amid a reiteration of the SC collegium to elevate Uttarak... Read More

(This story originally appeared in on Jul 28, 2018)

NEW DELHI: Justice Kurian Joseph has said the government should take time-bound actions on Supreme Court collegium recommendations. He suggested recommendations for the top court should be cleared within two weeks and for high courts in three months.

Currently, there is no time limit for the government to decide on names the Supreme Court or high court collegiums recommend as judges. Recommendations have often remained undecided for months. The judge’s remarks assume significance as they come amid a reiteration of the SC collegium to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph, first recommended in January.

Speaking at the same function, his colleague Justice Madan B Lokur, however, called upon the judiciary to introspect whether the vetting process was water-tight. “This may be one of the reasons for this ping pong that’s going on... recommendations going back and forth. Do we have that kind of scrutiny?”

Justice Kurian Joseph also concurred with a recent suggestion of Attorney General KK Venugopal to increase the retirement age of judges from 65 to 70. “The most productive years of a judge can be utilised till 70,” he said. Currently SC judges retire at 65 and HC judges at 62. He also suggested that chief justices of high courts seek the assistance of other senior judges in the high court on appointments and court management.

“The chief justice though he is the master ofroster — invariably the chief justice of high court is from another HC — must seek the assistance of senior judges in the court who are well aware of the expertise and exposure of brother and sister judges in the highcourt,” he said. The SC collegium clears appointments by looking into merit and seniority, whereas the government’s intelligence agencies do the vetting.

The Centre had returned Justice KM Joseph’s name to the collegium for reconsideration on the ground that others senior to him, before his elevation as CJ, were there in high courts. The SC collegium has since sent in more names of Madras high court chief justice Indira Banerjee and Odisha high court Chief Justice Vineet Saran for elevation to SC.

Under a long-established convention, the government does not return a name if recommended a second time. Judicial sources blamed the delay in appointing judges on the executive, a charge it denies. The government, on the other hand, blames the collegium for not recommending names on time.

