New Delhi: Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha on Tuesday criticised the government’s decision to drop the name of former solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium from the panel of four names recommended by the collegium headed by him for appointment as Supreme Court judges.
“I fail to understand how the appointment to a high constitutional post has been dealt with in a casual manner. The segregation of Gopal Subramanium’s file was done unilaterally, without my knowledge and concurrence, which was not proper," he said.
The Supreme Court collegium had recommended the names of four eminent people as judges, but while the government cleared the names of the chief justices of the Calcutta and Orissa High Courts, Mr Arun Mishra and Mr Adarsh Kumar Goyal, as well as lawyer Rohinton Nariman, it left out Mr Subramanium.
Justice Lodha, who was travelling abroad when the segregation of Mr Subramanium’s name from the others took place, voiced his objection over the executive’s unilateral action at a function here. He also took strong exception to Mr Subramanium going public with his grievances. "I was shocked and disappointed that Gopal Subramanium went public with his letter to the media,” he said.
The CJI said he was abroad when the former solictor-general talked to him over the phone about media reports that his name had been returned by the government. Mr Subramanium was asked to wait for the CJI’s return before making any move, but instead he went public, Justice Lodha said. “I came back on June 28 and had a meeting with Subramanium asking him to reconsider (his decision to withdraw consent for being appointed a judge),” he said.
Justice Lodha said the former S-G replied the next day with a six-line letter expressing his decision to withdraw his consent, and saying he couldn’t go back on it. After a few days, when the CJ talked to him again, Mr Subramanium reiterated his decision, Justice Lodha said.
The CJI asserted that the independence of judiciary was of “utmost importance” to him and told the lawyers present: “I want to put the record straight. It (independence of the judiciary) is non-negotiable. At no cost (will) the independence of judiciary be compromised. I will not hold my office if I see the institution of the judiciary has been compromised,” he said.
“I promise 1.2 billion people of India that the independence of the judiciary will not be compromised.”
