New Delhi: The Centre, through Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, said nothing in these suggestions should be construed as stopping Parliament or the Union of India from exercising such power in the first place.
If changes to the collegium system are to be made by this Bench, such changes will have to be consistent with the Third Judges’ Case and the matter must be considered by a Bench of appropriate strength (of nine judges) and consequent changes made by the Government of India to the Memorandum of Procedure.
It said in order to ensure efficient selection of judges for the High Courts and Supreme Court, a proper secretariat must be established in the Supreme Court and each High Court for the purpose of collecting background information and research to assess the judicial worth of a particular candidate. This must be a full-time secretariat with a senior officer-in-charge.
For existing judges sought to be appointed to the High Court or Supreme Court—age, number of judgments delivered, some landmark cases to assess the quality of judgments delivered, academic speeches and contribution to the law and other factors relevant to assess judicial worth of a candidate.
It wanted well-defined criteria to be established by the Supreme Court for appointment to the High Courts and to the Supreme Court as also Chief Justices of the High Court. Such criteria may include, inter alia, merit, seniority, integrity and issues of representativeness, specifically gender, geography and other relevant factors. Specific criteria should also be introduced for appointment of members of the Bar and distinguished jurists to the Supreme Court.
