The tussle over the judicial appointments has taken a fresh turn with one of the five judges of the collegium registering a protest with the Chief Justice of India over lack of transparency in judicial appointments.

Highly placed sources at the Supreme Court confirmed that Justice Chelameswar skipped a collegium meeting held this week and wrote a letter to the CJI demanding more accountability and the need to give reasons on decisions pertaining to appointment of judges.

The letter questioned complete absence of any processes in decisions pertaining to judicial appointments.It also charted out the way forward and the changes that can be brought to the present collegium system.

According to sources, arbitrariness, lack of scrutiny of decisions by collegium and the absence of open debate has irked many other judges of the Supreme Court.

BATTLE OVER JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

Justice Chelameswar continues to be a part of the collegium and has not recused himself so far. The Chief Justice of India is likely to discuss those suggestions with other judges before any changes can be brought to the collegium system.

If Justice Chelameswar views are accepted by the other judges of the collegium, the manner in which judges of High Court and Supreme Court are appointed across the country would be affected.

Justice Chelameswar was lone dissenting judge in the NJAC verdict that had struck down the Centre's law to bring executive's interference in the appointment of judges. Even in his judgement he had raised deep concerns over the opaque and unaccountable way in which the appointments are being made.

Sources say, in his letter to the CJI he has said that no reasons are recorded by collegium to approve or reject candidates and fundamental principles of democratic institutions of accountability and transparency are not followed.

The battle over judicial appointments has become an open war between the government and the judiciary. CJI and law minister have been at loggerheads over judicial appointments with CJI openly criticising the government for dragging its feet on judicial appointments.

After the NJAC verdict, the draft Memorandum of Procedure has been the bone of contention with no consensus between the government and the judiciary over the procedure ahead for judicial appointments. But schisms within the judiciary have come out in the open and cry to reform from within is growing louder.

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