Collegium system reforms can’t be at cost of judicial independence: CJI | India News

Amid a clamour for legislative revamp of the judges-selecting-judges system, fuelled by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s statements, CJI B R Gavai has stated no reform within the collegium system may be at the “cost of judicial independence” and that judiciary ought to retain its primacy in appointments to Supreme Court and excessive courts.At a round-table in UK Supreme Court on Tuesday night, CJI Gavai stated, “There may be criticism of the collegium system, but… judges must be free from external control.”CJI stated SC had struck down National Judicial Appointments Commission Act in 2015 because the legislation tried to dilute judiciary’s independence by giving primacy to the manager in courtroom appointments.Unwarranted interference led to collegium system, says CJI Tracing the evolution of the collegium system via two SC judgments in 1993 and 1998, the CJI stated the manager had the ultimate say in appointment of judges to Supreme Court and HCs until 1993 and that system noticed two senior-most judges of SC getting outmoded within the appointment of CJIs (each by the govt. headed by Indira Gandhi) in breach of established traditions.He stated the collegium system advanced as judiciary’s response to the manager’s excesses and unwarranted interference in appointments to constitutional courts.As per the 2 judgments involved, the collegium was to behave in unanimity and its choice was to be last, Justice Gavai stated, including that this “sought to ensure independence of judiciary, reduce executive interference and maintain judiciary’s autonomy in its appointments”.Quoting B R Ambedkar’s phrases – “our judiciary must both be independent of the executive and must also be competent in itself” – the CJI stated the truth that constitutional courts drew salaries from the Consolidated Fund of India made judges unbiased of the manager.Referring to Kesavananda Bharati judgment of 1973 that propounded the fundamental construction doctrine by a 13-judge bench via seven to 6 majority, CJI Gavai stated, “This ruling established a significant judicial precedent, affirming that certain fundamental principles, such as democracy, rule of law, and the separation of powers, are inviolable and cannot be altered.”