Keywords- Collegium System, Supreme Court, Chief Justice, Judges.
“Justice Rohinton Nariman, a retired Supreme Court judge, recently expressed his opinion that while the Collegium system for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts has its drawbacks, it remains the most suitable option for the current era.”
“That system has its obvious flaws; judges do not agree easily on things. But given the politics of the day, I think it is perhaps the best system in the circumstances,” he said.
Justice Nariman delivered his speech at the Committee Room of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, discussing the subject of ‘Origins and Development of Parliament’.
Significantly, he appealed to the Prime Minister to establish a committee aimed at addressing the issue of excessive government litigation. When questioned about the measures taken to expedite the Indian justice system, he responded by saying –
“The obvious thing is to cut down arrears by government not litigating. Government, it is a massive litigant. Just get rid of them, it is so simple for government to get rid of cases. Government itself must pay down its own litigative abilities. The Prime Minister must sit down, appoint a committee and have that community and deliberate as to which way we can completely de clog the courts of this country.”
During the question and answer session following his speech, the retired Supreme Court judge expressed his views. He stated that unlike in the United Kingdom, bicameralism holds significant influence in India, as the Rajya Sabha has the ability to nullify bills passed by the Lok Sabha.
Regarding the definition of secularism in India, he emphasized that the notion of ‘fraternity’ holds greater strength than secularism itself.
Recently, UU Lalit, the former Chief Justice of India (CJI), expressed his belief that the current system is the best and the appointment processes within it are not driven by nepotism or arbitrary decisions.
Former CJI SA Bobde also emphasized the importance of granting the Collegium, rather than the executive, the primary authority in judicial appointments.
Retired Supreme Court judge Justice MR Shah shared his opinion that the system was functioning effectively.
Likewise, Justice Ajay Rastogi acknowledged the merits of the Collegium system but suggested that its operations could benefit from enhanced transparency.
Written By- Muskan Vyas, Legal Journalist Intern under Legal Vidhiya
