KOCHI: The Supreme Court verdict striking down the National Judicial Appointment Commission has violated the principle of judicial restraint, said Justice Markendya Katju, former judge of the Supreme Court.
Delivering a lecture on the SC verdict about the National Judicial Commission Justice organised by the All India Lawyer Union here on Tuesday, Justice Katju came down heavily on the collegium system.
"I would like to call it (collegium) as 'Pancha Pandavas' who ignore the suggestions of everybody else. In a democratic system, everything should be transparent. People should know what's happening around them," he said.
Reeling out instances of members of the collegium acting to promote people of their choice, Justice Katju said it was a system of "you accept my man, I accept your man".
The collegium, comprising a panel of five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice of India, is the deciding authority on the appointment and transfer of judges.
Justice Katju also called upon the legal fraternity to persuade the Supreme Court to televise the collegium proceedings and also for bringing more transparency in the process of appointing judges.
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