Disquiet in judiciary

The Supreme Court collegium has recalled its own December 12 decision to fill two vacancies in the nation’s highest court, and bring in two other judges instead on January 10, raising suspicions about judges’ selection and judicial administration.

Dismay has been caused in judicial and legal circles by the unusual developments, for which there is no formal explanation. A sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, has shot off a letter to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and other members of the collegium, expressing his displeasure.

In December, the collegium led by Chief Justice Gogoi had selected the Chief Justices of the Rajasthan and Delhi high courts, Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Rajendra Menon respectively. But it didn’t place the decision on its website.

The names cleared in January — Karnataka high court’s Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna of the Delhi high court — have hastily been notified by the President. There is a mystery over why both names were changed. The only major change in the collegium between December and January is the retirement of Justice M.B. Lokur and his replacement by Justice Arun Mishra. Was this in any way significant?

When four judges of the Supreme Court — including the present CJI — took the unusual step of holding a press conference just over a year ago, they were concerned about the executive influencing the judiciary surreptitiously, and relatively junior Supreme Court judges being earmarked for benches handling politically sensitive cases. Justice Mishra’s name had cropped up then.

There is some worry that the present CJI may not have lived up to his billing.