New Delhi: The Supreme Court has strongly reprimanded the Center for ignoring the recommendations of the Collegium System. The court said that this is a law and it is necessary to implement it completely. Giving strict instructions to the Attorney General, he said that you should go and explain to the government. If some people refuse to accept the laws made by the Parliament, then what will be the situation? The court had said that society should start deciding on its own which laws are to be followed and which are not, otherwise it will become a breakdown situation.
We do not care about the problems of some people – said the Supreme Court
The bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Abhay S. Oka, and Justice Vikram Nath clearly instructed the Center that it is not going to be soft on the decision given by the Constitutional Bench under any circumstances. He said that the court does not care if some sections of society have problems with the collegium system. Attorney General R Venkataramani assured the court that he would consult the ministry in this regard.
The Attorney General told the court that twice the Supreme Court collegium itself had tweaked its own recommendations as the Center had returned the names suggested by it. It showed that the recommendation made by the collegium was somewhat incomplete in itself. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul’s bench took a strong stand and said that one or two instances do not give license to the Center to start ignoring the collegium system. The bench said that when the court has given a decision on this issue, then there is no need for any ifs and buts. The court said that due to the delay in appointment, talented people are not able to join the judiciary. This is kind of a weird situation.
The Supreme Court was hearing a contempt petition filed by the Advocates’ Association of Bengaluru. It was said in the petition that due to the obstinate attitude of the Centre, the pace of the judicial process is slowing down, as judges are not being appointed on time. An NGO also filed a PIL in this regard in 2018. That too was heard today.
The Attorney General said that he is talking to the Center about this, so the court gave strict instructions that whatever has to be done should be done quickly. We want to solve the problem. How harsh the court’s attitude was can be gauged from the fact that the bench said do you understand that we can issue notice only on contempt petition? The court said that it expected the Attorney General to tell the government what it should do on legal matters. The matter will be heard next week.
