Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Malady and remedy: On the collegium system of judicial appointments

Malady and remedy: On the collegium system of judicial appointments

Holding back names is not the right response to flaws (गलती, दोष) in collegium system

The collegium (A group of ruling officials each with equal rank and power) system of making appointments to the higher judiciary has come under focus, largely due to critical (गंभीर, आलोचनात्मक) remarks made by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju. A lawyer has now formally approached the Supreme Court for reconsideration of its 2015 judgment striking down the Constitution amendment and the law creating a National Judicial (अदालती, न्यायालय-संबंधी) Appointments Commission (NJAC). While the petition will be “listed in due course”, there is another aspect (पहलू, आकृति) that flags the tension between the Government and the judiciary over judicial appointments. A Bench of the Court voiced its displeasure over the Government delaying its recommendations (सिफ़ारिश करना, अनुशंसा) for appointment, as well as ignoring names that had been reiterated twice or even thrice. The result was that lawyers whose names had been recommended for appointment had withdrawn their consent to be judges. The Bench was forced to observe that keeping the recommendations on hold was “some sort of a device to compel these persons to withdraw their names”. The Government’s keenness to wrest (हथियाना, खींचना) back the power to make judicial appointments from the judiciary is clear. However, it is doubtful whether this can be achieved by a review petition. The 4:1 verdict can only be reviewed by a Bench of equal strength, and the Government has not sought a review all these years. Mr. Rijiju did say, as part of his series of comments critical of the collegium system, that the Government had accepted the decision, but added that it could not be silent forever over the opaqueness and lack of accountability (जवाबदेही) in the system.

Much of the criticism (आलोचना, समीक्षा) heaped upon the collegium system is not unfounded. It is opaque, it does limit the zone of consideration to those known to its members and judges who are consulted on appointments, and there is no indication that it is conducive to attracting the best legal talent. Some maladies it was supposed to remedy — mainly, the perception about the executive’s (कार्यकारिणी) influence over the judiciary — persist (दृढ़ रहना). Even the judgment that struck down the 99th Constitution Amendment and the NJAC Act accepted that there were flaws, but the majority chose to retain the collegium system until it was improved. The exercise to improve it was also abandoned soon. However, if the Government is really keen to bring about a change, the petulant (चिड़चिड़ा, ढीठ) response of stalling appointments is not the way. It has to work towards an alternative mechanism, one that does not have the perceived infirmities that led to the invalidation of the earlier law. The NJAC mechanism enabled the outnumbering of judicial members by executive nominees. A better system than the present one should avoid such pitfalls (नुकसान) in the name of executive primacy in judicial appointments.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Malady (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - रोग, नुक़सान
English Meaning - Any disorder or disease of the body, that is chronic.

2.Remedy (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - निदान, उपाय
English Meaning - Something that cures or relieves a disease.

3.Judicial (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अदालती, न्यायालय-संबंधी
English Meaning - About court proceedings.

4.Flaws (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - गलती, दोष
English Meaning - A feature that defects the perfection of something.

5.Critical (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - गंभीर, आलोचनात्मक
English Meaning - Inclined to criticize severely.

6.Aspect (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - पहलू, आकृति
English Meaning - A particular status or phase in which something appears.

7.Recommendation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - सिफ़ारिश करना, अनुशंसा
English Meaning - The act of recommending

8.Wrest (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - हथियाना, खींचना
English Meaning - To take away by force.

9.Opaqueness (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - धुँधलापन, अस्पष्टता
English Meaning - The property of blocking the passage of radiant energy.

10.Accountability (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - जवाबदेही
English Meaning - The fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility.

11.Criticism (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - आलोचना, समीक्षा
English Meaning - The act of criticizing usually favourably.

12.Persist (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - दृढ़ रहना
English Meaning - To continue firmly in some course of action in spite of opposition.

13.Petulant (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - चिड़चिड़ा, ढीठ
English Meaning - Showing sudden impatient irritation.

14.Executive (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्यकारिणी
English Meaning - The person or persons in which the supreme executive power of a government is vested.

15.Pitfalls (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - नुकसान
English Meaning - Any trap for the unwary.

16.Collegium (Noun)

English Meaning - A group of ruling officials each with equal rank and power.