Editorial: Growing friction

Dhankhar’s remarks, targeting the Supreme Court over the appointment of judges, reflect a widening gulf between the executive and the judiciary.

Hyderabad: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s stinging remarks, targeting the Supreme Court over the issue of appointment of judges, reflect a widening gulf between the executive and the judiciary. The conflict, if not resolved amicably, could threaten the institutional balance and adversely impact the justice delivery system. The apex court’s 2015 order striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act has come in for severe criticism by Dhankar.

In his first speech as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he dubbed the SC order as a “glaring instance” of “severe compromise” of parliamentary sovereignty, and disregard of the people’s mandate. These are, undoubtedly, strong words coming from someone holding a high constitutional position. This is the second time in two weeks that Dhankhar has raised the issue of judges’ appointments and criticised the Supreme Court. Last week, sharing the dais with Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, the VP had said that the “power of the people” was “undone” in an instance that “the world does not know of any such instance”. The Centre and the apex court have been on a collision course, with each taking potshots at the other over the contentious issue. While the judiciary has been complaining about the delay in clearing appointments, the government has consistently raised objections over the functioning of the collegium system through which judges are chosen by the SC. The growing friction comes against the backdrop of the opposition’s allegation that the Centre has been interfering with the functioning of constitutional bodies including the judiciary.

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The main criticism against the collegium system, under which the apex court appoints judges in the higher judiciary, is that it is opaque, oligarchical and alien to the Constitution. The collegium comprises the Chief Justice of India and four senior-most justices who decide the appointment of judges to the high courts and the apex court. The executive and the political class may have strong views about the age-old convention and may, justifiably, feel the need for demystifying and reforming the collegium system to make it more transparent and free from bias, what is worrying now is that the disagreement on this issue is setting the NDA government on a collision course with the judiciary. The collegium system should not be used as a ruse by the executive to indulge in inordinately delay clearing the names recommended by the judiciary. The NJAC, initiated by the UPA government to replace the collegium system and supported by all parties, was considered the right step to bring transparency and accountability to the functioning of the judiciary. However, the Supreme Court had struck down the NJAC Act and the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014, leading to the revival of the collegium system. There is, however, a need to reform the system to make it more efficient.