The apex court faced criticism after the transfer and subsequent resignation of Justice Jayant M Patel
After coming under intense scrutiny for the proposed transfer of Justice Jayant M Patel of the Karnataka High court to the Allahabad high court, the Supreme Court of India's collegium (which appoints judges to the nation's constitutional courts) have finally given into the mounting pressure and will now ensure transparency in the appointment and transfer of judges.
Justice Patel had ordered CBI investigation in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case and his transfer, followed by subsequent resignation, sparked a major controversy.
The resolution was passed by the five senior most judges namely, Chief Justice of India Deepak Misra, Justice J Chelameswar, Justice R Gogoi, Justice M Lokur and Justice K Joseph. The ruling means that the appointment and transfer of judges will be open to public.
In their statement, the judges said, “ That the decisions henceforth taken by the Collegium indicating the reasons shall be put on the website of the Supreme Court, when the recommendation(s) is/are sent to the Government of India, with regard to the cases relating to initial elevation to the High Court Bench, confirmation as permanent Judge(s) of the High Court, elevation to the post of Chief Justice of High Court, transfer of High Court Chief Justices / Judges and elevation to the Supreme Court, because on each occasion the material which is considered by the Collegium is different. The Resolution is passed to ensure transparency and yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system.”
Back in March this year, the collegium headed by former CJI Jagdish Singh Khehar had negated the central government's clauses related to national security and appointment of permanent secretariat. The secretariat would collate data on the track record of Judges being considered for appointment and place it before the Collegium. For decades, the Centre and the Supreme Court have not been able to come to terms on the Memorandum of Procedure, a crucial document, which would uncover the procedure of appointment or transfer of judges.
CJI Deepak Mishra, who is yet to appoint 10 judges in the Supreme Court, had slammed all allegations of pro-government judges’ appointments and external influences. In fact, Justice Misra has sent out the message of ensuring transparency in appointment of judges loud and clear and that the collegium has nothing to hide from its citizens.
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