The letter was addressed on the same day a top court bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul expressed “extreme concern” over the government sitting over 10 files related to the transfer of judges.
Pointing out that the finalization of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) regarding the appointment of judges is still “pending”, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has, in a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, suggested the inclusion of a government representative in the “search-cum-evaluation committee” that will provide inputs on “suitable candidates” to the appointment panel or the collegium, The Print reported.
As per the minister’s letter, sent on 6 January 2023, the search-cum-evaluation committee at the level of the High Court would have a state government as well as a central government nominee, while a similar committee in the Supreme Court would comprise a representative of the central government.
The letter was addressed on the same day a top court bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul expressed “extreme concern” over the government sitting over 10 files related to transfer of judges.
The letter speaks about how best the appointment system can be “streamlined” and advises the CJI to constitute a search-cum-evaluation panel. Supreme Court sources said the collegium is yet to deliberate on the letter.
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At present, the appointment mechanism as outlined in the MoP does not include a search-cum-evaluation committee.
However, the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) verdict, delivered in 2015, talked about a secretariat in the SC to collate a database of suitable lawyers who could be considered for elevation. The verdict had advised both the central government and Supreme Court collegium to modify the MoP to “refine the appointment process”.
However, the MoP has remained a bone of contention between the two institutions.
While the Modi government feels that finalization of the MoP, as per the NJAC judgment, is still pending, the judiciary has on its part said the existing MoP is the “law of the land” and should be followed.
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