New Delhi:
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of five Supreme Court justices for elevation after the government thumbs down the list last month. The new list includes judges from Bihar, Rajasthan, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh.
The decision was made at a marathon meeting on Tuesday, shortly after Judge Dipankar Datta took the oath.
With the appointment of Judge Datta, the Supreme Court rose to a working strength of 28 judges, from a sanctioned strength of 34.
Today’s recommendation comes in the context of a larger back-and-forth issue of the appointment of judges, in which the Center wants to play a role. The Supreme Court states that the Collegium system is the “law of the land” that must be “followed to the teeth”.
Last month, the names of 19 judges recommended by the Collegium for elevation were denied the green light by the central government. Sources said some names repeated by the Collegium were also bounced back.
At a hearing on the matter last week, a chamber of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath said it was unacceptable for the government to consider the Collegium’s recommendations.
“A decision must be made within a reasonable time. Once a name is repeated, you (the government) must appoint. You send names back twice, three times. So you do not appoint a person who is contrary to the Collegium system is there, enforce it,” Judge Kaul had said.
“If you want to introduce a new law, you can introduce it, but as long as the current law exists, you have to abide by it. Our job is to enforce the law as it exists. Until when will this ping-pong battle continue?” he had added.
The Center had previously filed an affidavit saying a timeline for judicial appointments is “not appropriate.”