Supreme Court Highlights Govt's Delays in Clearing Recommendations Made by Collegium
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Thursday (July 24) that it is aware of delays which are allegedly being caused by the Union government in clearing recommendations made by the collegium for appointment of judges to several high courts in the country.
The comments were made by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai after senior advocate Arvind Datar mentioned the case pertaining to judicial appointments, reported Economic Times.
"There are names recommended in 2019, reiterated in 2021-22, but still pending. These names have been there for four years. They lose seniority," said Datar.
In response to Datar's statement, CJI Gavai remarked verbally, “"we are also pursuing from the administrative side. I am aware".
Datar further added that the government cannot keep collegium recommendations pending for three to four years, and it needs to adhere to timelines. The bench agreed and said it would list the matter for adjudication.
Earlier this month, the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform (CJAR) had issued a statement condemning the Union government’s decision to withhold the appointment of Swetashree Majumder and Rajesh Datar as high court judges despite recommendation from the Supreme Court Collegium.
The statement came after Majumdar and Datar withdrew their consent for appointment as judges as their names were segregated by the government from the list of recommended advocates and kept pending for approval, while those of the others were cleared.
Calling it “unconstitutional and illegal”, CJAR had called upon the Supreme Court to “uphold judicial independence” and take immediate steps against the Union government’s decision.
It reminded the top court that a writ petition is already pending before it since 2018 seeking a mandamus from the government for “timely judicial appointments in accordance with law and a direction against unilateral segregation of collegiums recommendations, that is leading to the subversion of the judicial appointment process”. However, no effective orders have been passed in this case.
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