The Supreme Court on Thursday came out strongly against repeated attempts and misleading campaign being made to defame the judiciary, saying great damage is being done to democracy.
The Supreme Court said on Monday it will have to constitute a bench to hear a plea against the collegium system of appointment of judges to the apex court and high courts.
The collegium, in a meeting held on Monday, approved the proposal for elevation of nine judicial officers as judges in the Punjab and Haryana high court.
The power of judicial review is being stretched to breaking point.
The Collegium's recommendations, if accepted by the Centre, will raise the total number of judges in the apex court to 33 against the sanctioned strength of 34 including the CJI.
Let the existing collegium system which is functioning not get derailed, the SC observed.
Justice Muralidharan had directed the state government to consider the representation for ST status to the majority Meitei community and write to the Centre within four weeks.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal challenging a single judge's order quashing a plea seeking the agenda of the Supreme Court collegium's meeting on December 12, 2018, when certain decisions were purportedly taken on the elevation of judges to the apex court.
The Supreme Court addressed concerns about misinformation spreading related to an incident involving Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. The court clarified that the proposal to transfer Justice Varma to Allahabad High Court was independent of an internal investigation into the discovery of a large sum of cash at his residence following a fire. The Delhi High Court Chief Justice is conducting the investigation and will submit a report to the Chief Justice of India today.
Woman lawyer Suman Pattanayak was also recommended as a judge of the Orissa high court by the collegiums on July 25, a statement said.
If it is opaque, then who else will speak up against it if not the concerned minister, Rijiju said.
The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has recommended the names of four district judges for appointment as judges of the Madras high court.
'Because, if someone remains an undertrial prisoner for five or seven years and is finally proven innocent, how will you compensate for the time lost?'
'Refusal does not invite immediate legal penalty; it invites Constitutional unease.'
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has begun an indefinite strike to protest the proposed transfer of Delhi HC judge Yashwant Varma, who is under investigation after a large amount of cash was found at his residence. The Oudh Bar Association (OBA) of the Lucknow bench of the High Court has also condemned the transfer, calling for impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma. Both bar associations are concerned about the impact on public faith in the judiciary and have called for a reconsideration of the transfer decision.
Noted jurist Fali S Nariman on Thursday slammed the two legislations that seek to overturn the present collegium system of appointment of judges, saying they hit at the root of judicial independence and may be struck down by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday recommended to the Centre the names of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, the chief justice of the Telangana high court, and Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti, his counterpart in Kerala, for elevation as judges of the apex court.
The collegium said the Chief Justice of the Delhi high court, in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues, had on May 30 recommended the elevation of the judicial officers as judges of that high court.
'Somebody will need to blow the whistle, call the play to a halt, and convince all players that they belong on the same side of the goal,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to provide information about the numbers and names reiterated by the apex court Collegium for appointment as judges in higher judiciary with reasons why they were not considered so far and at what level they were pending.
Delhi high court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Rajasthan high court Chief Justice Augustine George Masih and Gauhati high court Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta were appointed as top court judges.
In a recent report, the Department-related Standing Committee on Law and Justice and Personnel said it expects the government and the judiciary to finalise the revised MoP, 'which is more efficient and transparent', in terms of a Supreme Court observation.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Tuesday recommended to the Centre the names of Andhra Pradesh high court chief justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior advocate KV Viswanathan as judges of the apex court.
The bench issued notice to the incumbent Secretary (Justice) of the Union Law Ministry seeking response on a plea alleging "wilful disobedience" of time frame laid down to facilitate timely appointment in the apex court's April 20 last year order .
The three-member Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, said the proposal for appointment of Kirpal as a judge of the high court has been pending for over five years and needs to be processed expeditiously.
The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday recommended to the Centre the names of Allahabad high court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat high court Chief Justice Aravind Kumar for elevation as apex court judges.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said it was a "matter of grave concern" that certain portions of sensitive reports of the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing were put in public domain by the Supreme Court collegium.
The apex court observed that any law declared by it is "binding" on all stakeholders and the collegium system must be followed.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to disclose the details of a collegium meeting held on December 12, 2018, under the Right to Information Act.
Justice Sodhi said the right to frame laws lies with Parliament.
The minister said the Constitution of India is a 'religious document' for everyone, especially the government, and 'anything which is alien to the Constitution merely because of the decision taken by the courts or some judges, how do you expect that the decision will be backed by the country'.
Three judges, including two high court chief justices, were appointed to the Supreme Court on Thursday.
'I have repeatedly been saying that the collegium system is the best available method of appointment of judges, but it needs some changes. This needs discussion. One important change is that the opacity of the government has to go. The government is more opaque than the collegium'
Members of the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association on Thursday passed a resolution strongly opposing the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium to transfer Justice Nikhil Kariel to the Patna high court, and also abstained from work for the second half of the day as a mark of protest.
Bombay high court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Patna high court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi were on Wednesday elevated as judges of the Supreme Court, the government said.
"Today, I am quiet because the attorney general has sought a very short time, next time I will not be quiet. Use your good office to see these issues are resolved," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul told Attorney General R Venkataramani. "I thought of saying a lot, but since the attorney general is only seeking seven days time, I'm holding myself," said Justice Kaul, whose bench also comprised Sudhanshu Dhulia, after Venkataramani sought a week's time to come back with instructions on the pending recommendations for judges' appointment to the high court.
'If we stay silent now, we betray the very foundation of justice in this country.'
The Delhi high court on Wednesday dismissed a challenge to the Central Information Commission's order dismissing an RTI appeal seeking the agenda of the Supreme Court collegium's meeting on December 12, 2018, when certain decisions were purportedly taken on elevation of judges to the apex court.
The top court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had on July 5 recommended the appointment of Justice Mridul, a judge of the Delhi high court, as the chief justice of the Manipur high court, amid the ethnic turmoil in the border state.
Sodhi told the news channel that Parliament makes the law and the courts have the power of judicial review over it and added it was not right to make his opinion "political".
