A slew of suggestions, including provision for a well-defined criteria for prospective judges, were today mooted before the Supreme Court by various lawyers for improving the revived collegium system of appointments in higher judiciary.
The government suggested that "the minutes of the collegium meeting must be subject to RTI Act. The candidates must disclose membership of any political party. Rules/guidelines must be prescribed for selection of candidates to ensure transparency."
"There must be well-defined criteria that should be established by the Supreme Court for appointments to the High Courts and to the Supreme Court. The criteria must refer to age, merit, seniority, integrity, income criteria, academic qualification," one of the suggestions collated by senior lawyer Arvind Datar and Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand said.
A five-judge constitution bench, headed by Justice J S Khehar, is hearing the lawyers who have compiled the suggestions received from the common public and various bar bodies.
The Centre has suggested a three-step procedure, to be made known publicly, of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts that comprises the recommendation and appointment through a consultative participatory exercise.
"There should be an Annual Report on appointments which should be publicly available. All procedures of the collegium must be recorded in writing and transferred to the National Archives of India after 30 years for use by scholars.
"A panel of eligible candidates must be prepared in advance and appointment may be made through this panel. Before names are finalised, there should be an informal consultative meeting with the Chief Minister to avoid delay in the clearance of files. An IB report regarding the candidates must be obtained before the name is sent by the High Court collegium to the Supreme Court," the government suggested.
It further recommended that only candidates whose names are cleared should be sent to the Supreme Court.
On the issue of increasing retirement age of High Court judges from 62 to 65 years, the apex court rejected the proposal to fix minimum qualification criteria for appointment of judges.
(Reopen LGD37)
During the hearing, Bar Council of India said it was mulling framing of rule to make it mandatory for a lawyer to have at least five years of experience of practicing in lower court to argue case in High Courts. It said that for arguing in the Supreme Court, a lawyer must have five year of practice in High Courts.
Senior advocate and chairman of BCI Manan Kumar Mishra told the bench that the proposal to bring the rule was suggested by the SC Judge Justice Kurian Joseph and the Bar is seriously considering to frame rules in this regard.
The bench said such rule is there in Pakistan and BCI can frame similar rule for lawyers in the country.
On the issue of eligibility of candidates, it has been suggested that age limits, legal knowledge, number of cases appeared, income limits etc. Must be specified.
"It is suggested that there should be a well-defined criteria on this account and this must be made available on the website. Apart from the candidates recommended by the High Court Judges, it is suggested that applications should be invited.
"This can be termed as 'expression of interest' of a candidate to become a judge. The nominations can also be made by senior advocates. The zone of consideration should not be merely from relatives of advocates or judges," the compilation of suggestions said.
The zone of consideration should be a panel of all suitable candidates and there must be an interview by the collegium of the shortlisted candidates.
"There were also suggestions that the shortlisted candidates for a High Court should also be interviewed, if necessary, by the Supreme Court collegium.
"Judicial members of Tribunals should be considered for elevation. Advocates practicing in district courts must also be considered," the compilation said.
