Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan has mentioned that casual communication with the federal government and the collegium earlier than recommending names for appointment of judges is a menace to the independence of the judiciary.
“There are whispers – and I hope they are not true – that the collegium is thinking that they will send recommendations only when they are about to be accepted by the government. It is a very dangerous proposition,” Vaidyanathan advised SASTRA in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Speaking on the second MK Nambiar Memorial Lecture organized by the college, he mentioned.
Chief Justice of India UU Lalit delivered the lecture. Former Attorney General KK Vengopal, former Supreme Court justices Santosh Hegde and BN Srikrishna had been amongst these current. A senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General of India, Vaidyanathan started his profession with Venugopal, and was the principal advocate representing the deity Ram Lalla within the Ayodhya title dispute case.
“I hope it will never be true because if it is true, it means prior informal consultation. It would mean negating the independence of the judiciary and the decision of the NJAC,” he mentioned.
Vaidyanathan mentioned it will be higher to have a bigger bench evaluation the NJAC’s choice and formally let the federal government step within the door as an alternative of informally consulting the federal government.
Vaidyanathan’s remarks come within the backdrop of a cut up throughout the collegium over the advice of names within the Supreme Court. In a public assertion, the collegium, led by CJI Lalit, mentioned on October 9 that after splitting the collegium into 3:2 on the advice of 4 names, additional steps with regard to the “incomplete” promotion transfer can be “closed”. The choice was taken.
The assertion acknowledged that the CJI’s proposal to suggest the names via a “written note” as an alternative of a proper assembly was agreed to by Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph, however was opposed by Justices DY Chandrachud and S Abdul Nazeer was.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
