Supreme Court Collegium

Supreme Court Collegium

Supreme Court Collegium

This article covers “Daily Current Affairs” and the topic details “Supreme Court Collegium”. The topic “Supreme Court Collegium” has relevance in the “Environment” section for the UPSC CSE exam.

Supreme Court Collegium

For Prelims:
What is Supreme Court Collegium?
What are the important Supreme Court cases?

For Mains:
GS 2: Polity and Governance
What are the issues with Collegium?
What are the steps that can be taken to resolve the issues in the Collegium system?
Way Forward 

Why in the news?

On Wednesday, the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud-led Supreme Court Collegium decided to retract its previous recommendation to transfer S. Muralidhar, the current Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, to the position of Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

What is Supreme Court Collegium?

  • The Supreme Court Collegium is a group of the top five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court of India, including the Chief Justice of India. 
  • The Collegium is responsible for making recommendations for appointments and transfers of judges in the higher judiciary, including the Supreme Court and High Courts of India.

What are the important Supreme Court cases?

The “Three Judges Case” refers to a series of landmark judgments delivered by the Supreme Court of India in 1998, which had significant implications for the process of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary in India.

Following are the three cases:

  • The First Judges Case (1981) upheld the “primacy” of the Chief Justice of India’s recommendations for judicial appointments and transfers, but also established that the Executive could refuse such recommendations for “cogent reasons.” This decision resulted in the Executive having greater influence over the Judiciary in the matter of judicial appointments for the next 12 years.
  • The Second Judges Case (1993) introduced the Collegium system and clarified that “consultation” meant “concurrence.” It also ruled that the CJI’s recommendations must reflect the institutional opinion of the Supreme Court, formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges.
  • The Third Judges Case (1998) expanded the Collegium to a five-member body comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues. The case arose on a reference from the President, and the judgment further strengthened the Collegium system, giving it greater power in the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary.

What are the issues with Collegium?

There have been several criticisms of the Supreme Court Collegium system over the years. Some of the main issues with the system are:

  1. Lack of transparency: The Collegium system operates in a largely opaque manner, with no clear criteria or guidelines for the selection of judges. The process of selecting judges is not open to public scrutiny, and there is no way for the public to know how decisions are made.
  2. Lack of diversity: Critics argue that the Collegium system lacks diversity and perpetuates the dominance of a few powerful judges within the judiciary. There have been concerns that the system does not do enough to address issues of caste, gender, and regional representation in the selection of judges.
  3. Questionable appointments: There have been instances where the Collegium has recommended the appointment of judges who have been accused of serious misconduct or have questionable backgrounds. This has raised concerns about the lack of accountability in the system.
  4. Delay in appointments: The Collegium system has also been criticized for delays in the appointment of judges, which can lead to a backlog of cases and affect the functioning of the judiciary.
  5. Lack of checks and balances: The Collegium system operates without any external checks or balances, which can create the potential for abuse of power. The system does not have any formal mechanism for review or accountability, and decisions made by the Collegium are often final.

What are the steps that can be taken to resolve the issues in the Collegium system?

There are several steps that can be taken to address the issues with the Supreme Court Collegium system. Some of these include:

  1. Transparency: There should be greater transparency in the Collegium system, with clear guidelines and criteria for the selection of judges. The process of selecting judges should be made public, with information on the qualifications, experience, and other relevant details of the candidates made available to the public.
  2. Diversity: The Collegium should make a conscious effort to promote diversity in the selection of judges, taking into account factors such as gender, caste, and regional representation. There should be greater efforts to ensure that the judiciary is representative of the diversity of the country.
  3. Accountability: The Collegium system should have a mechanism for review and accountability, with checks and balances to prevent abuse of power. This could include an external oversight body or a system for public feedback on appointments.
  4. Timeliness: The process of selecting and appointing judges should be streamlined to minimize delays, ensuring that vacancies are filled promptly and the judiciary is functioning effectively.
  5. Reform: There should be a broader discussion on the future of the Collegium system and the possibility of reform. This could involve considering alternative models for the appointment of judges or introducing more formal checks and balances to the existing system.

Way Forward 

The Supreme Court Collegium system has faced criticism over the years, but it remains an important mechanism for the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary in India. To ensure that the system functions effectively and meets the needs of the country’s legal system, appropriate reforms are needed.

Sources:

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1294854/

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