The Delhi High Court today rejected pleas seeking to restrain the Supreme Court collegium from recommending appointments to the higher judiciary and the government from acting on it till the system is "defect-free and fool-proof".
Justice Manmohan rejected the plea filed by two lawyers which also sought a restraint on the government from acting on the collegium's recommendation for elevating three High Court Chief Justices and a senior lawyer to the apex court.
"Thank You. Heard (the petitions). It is dismissed," the court said.
The four new judges, whose names have been recommended by the Supreme Court collegium and approved by President Pranab Mukherjee, were administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur this morning.
The four justices sworn in are A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and L Nageshwar Rao, taking the apex court's strength to 29, including Chief Justice T S Thakur.
Justices Khanwilkar, Chandrachud and Bhushan were the Chief Justices of Madhya Pradesh High Court, Allahabad High Court and Kerala High Court, respectively.
Justice Rao, who was a senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General, has been elevated as an apex court judge from the bar.
The court was hearing pleas filed by a Delhi-based lawyer R P Luthra and Mumbai-based lawyer, Mathews J Nedumpara, who had urged for a declaration that selection and appointment of judges of the apex court and the High Court be made by advertising the vacancies to invite applications from eligible candidates.
They had said that hundreds and thousands of lawyers are of the view that appointment to such offices should be open to all eligible candidates and only "the best ought to be selected and appointed".
Nedumpara in his plea had also said that the applications received should be processed by a competent authority through "an open and transparent mechanism".
