Rijiju writes to CJI, wants panels with govt reps to advise collegium on judges’ appointments
Pointing out that the finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) regarding 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 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, ThePrint has learnt.
As per the minister’s letter, sent on 6 January, 2023, the search-cum-evaluation committee at the level of 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.
Sources aware of the development told ThePrint that the search-cum-evaluation committee would consolidate the data on advocates — including inputs on their performance as lawyers — and if there are any complaints pending against them, and forward it to the collegium, which will then take a final call on appointments.