Centre Seeks Inclusion Of Its Representatives In SC Collegium And States' Representatives In HC Collegium

The Union Law Minister, Kiren Rijiju in a letter to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has sought the inclusion of the Central Government’s representatives in the Supreme Court Collegium and the concerned State Government’s representative in the High Court Collegium, for transparency.

The Ministry has suggested this for the purpose of bringing public accountability into the selection process of the Constitutional Court Judges, as per news reports.

In the meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Subramanian Swamy has criticized the move. "I recommend that our PM read Article 217 of the Constitution (Sankritised Hindi version also available), since it makes clear that Union Government thru President can only decide on High Court judges. For SC judges it is the prerogative of the CJI and his constituted committee", he said in a tweet.

Last month, the Law Minister had informed the Rajya Sabha that the Center has sent suggestions for supplementing the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for the appointment of Judges to the High Courts and Supreme Court.

He had also told the Parliament that representations have been received regarding the lack of transparency and diversity in the appointment of judges with request to improve the system of appointment of judges.

More recently, while speaking at an event, the Minister had said that Judges will have to face public scrutiny even though they are unelected.

He had said, "We are committed to the people and are servants of the public, likewise, the judges should think deeply about how they are answerable". He also said that Judges should feel that they are also answerable to the citizens of the country even though they are not elected. "If we work as per the constitution, there will not be any tension between the judiciary, legislature and the executive,", the Minister said.