look news india
A senior Supreme Court judge has proposed to ban the appointment of children of present or former judges as High Court judges for a few years. Responding to this suggestion, a senior member of the Supreme Court Collegium said that it would not be appropriate to completely bar such candidates, but strict criteria should be set for their selection. This proposal has become a subject of wide discussion among the judiciary and lawyers.
Lawyers’ dissatisfaction: Old grievances resurface
Lawyers have been alleging for a long time that in the appointment of High Court judges, priority is usually given to the relatives of present or former judges. This complaint gives credence to the allegations of family favoritism and ignoring merit in the judiciary.
What do the members of the collegium say?
The senior member of the collegium argued that judicial appointments are based on merit and suitability, and completely barring a particular group would be discriminatory. He said:
“If children of judges are completely barred, the judiciary may be deprived of talented candidates who are needed in the justice system.”
However, this member also believed that some strict steps should be taken to remove the feeling of dissatisfaction among the lawyers.
Emphasis on eligibility criteria
Supporters of the proposal believe that raising the criteria for selection of children of judges is necessary to restore confidence in the judicial system.
It was argued that the strict criteria would ensure that only those candidates are selected who meet the criteria of merit and judicial competence.
Controversial appointments and anger of lawyers
The issue became more heated when tributes were paid to three former Supreme Court judges (Justice Kuldeep Singh, Justice M. Jagannadh Rao, and Justice H.S. Bedi) during the full court reference on Wednesday.
In this context it was told that the sons of these judges were appointed judges of the High Court. One of these judges resigned in just six months and started practicing law again in the Supreme Court. This further increased allegations of family bias in the judiciary.
Need for transparency in judiciary
Lawyers are demanding reforms on this issue. He believes that new rules and guidelines should be implemented to ensure transparency and merit based selection in the judicial system.
Lawyers have appreciated the proposed moratorium and stringent norms as it will strengthen the process of providing level playing field in the judiciary.