Supreme Court to Reconsider Collegium System

Source : Indlaw

An eleven-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court will reconsider the present collegium system of appointment of Supreme Court and High Court Judges under which its recommendations headed by the Chief Justice of India are binding on the government and the executive has no say in judicial appointments for superior courts.

A Bench comprising Justice Deepak Verma and B.S. Chauhan yesterday referred to a petition to the CJI S.H. Kapadia for constituting an appropriate bench to revisit the 1993 nine-judge bench judgement in advocates-on-record association case. 

The two judge bench made the reference after the Attorney General of India G.E. Vahanvati backed the petitioner NGO Suraj India Trust which contended that the collegium system has failed, constituted under the 1993 verdict which gave supremacy and primacy to the apex court collegium headed by CJI to form an opinion in consultation with the four other senior most judges of the apex court and his opinion remained binding on the government. 

Petitioner NGO contended that the executive must have a say in the appointment of Supreme Court and High Court Judges. 

CJI will have to constitute an 11-judge bench to revisit the 9-judge bench ruling of 1993.