Our Correspondent / New Delhi
The Supreme Court Friday accused the government of stalling the appointment procedure of Judges. It slammed the Centre for sitting over the recommendations of the apex court collegium for the appointment of judges to various High Courts, terming the move as amounting to paralysing and locking out the judiciary.
Telling the government that no attempt to paralyse the judicial institution would be tolerated, the bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice L. Nageswara Rao said all the courts on the ground floor of the Karnataka High Court were locked for want of Judges.
The Chief Justice pointed out that recommendations for the appointment of judges to the Allahabad High Court were pending with the government for the past nine months. Chief Justice said that collegium recommended 18 names, government pruned them to eight and now court is being told two have been cleared.
He said if the government had any problems with any name then it could send it back, but it cannot sit over it, pointing out that the High Courts were functioning at 50 per cent of their sanctioned strength.
“We had a situation when there were judges but no courtrooms, today we have courtrooms but no judges. Half of the courtrooms in Karnataka High Court are locked. You can as well have whole courts locked and close down Justice,” the Chief Justice said.
“It is not any body’s ego. It is the institution that suffers,” the Chief Justice told Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, reminding him that he was the leader of the bar and will have to play a constructive role.
“You want to lock out Justice?”, the Chief Justice asked Rohatgi, who said that non-finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure was coming in the way of the government in clearing the recommendations.
At this, Chief Justice Thakur asked how then had the government cleared other names, pointing out that in the absence of a new Memorandum of Procedure appointments could be made on the basis of the old MoP.
As Attorney General Rohatgi said that the old MoP was contrary to the judgment of the court striking down National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and that the object of the new MoP was to bring the appointment procedure under light, the Chief Justice said if you insist that MoP must be finalised before appointment (of judges) then we will sit in a constitution bench and say that the government will not be allowed to scuttle judicial appointments till it frames a new MoP.
Reminding the Attorney General of the statements made by the Law Minister in the past that the non-finalisation of MoP would not come in the way of the appointment of judges, the Chief Justice Thakur said, “The MoP is your red herring. The Law Minister and the government has repeatedly told us that the process of finalisation of MoP will not stall judicial appointments process. Now are you saying that there is a deadlock on the MoP and you want it cleared first before appointing judges”.
“We don’t want to clash with you. But if you go on like this, we will form a five-judge Bench and say you are scuttling appointment”, Chief Justice Thsakur told Attorney General as later said that the “Idea is not to scuttle the appointments” adding that “If everything can be done without MoP, why do you need the MoP in the first place.”
The Chief Justice said that the “They (appointments) are languishing. When the collegium has cleared. Why are you sitting on them”?
Telling Rohatgi that he was the leader of the bar, Chief Justice Thakur said, “We expect some more positive and constructive role from you.”
The court directed further hearing of the matter on November 11, 2016.
Meanwhile,The Congress has accused the Centre of attempting to weaken the Constitutional institutions
Reacting to Supreme Court’s observation about judicial appointments in New Delhi , party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi alleged that Memorandum of Procedure is being used by the government as an instrument for delaying the appointments of judges.
He said, the situation in the High Courts is pitiable as about 50 per cent posts of judges are vacant.
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