New Delhi:
A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court asked the government on Wednesday to compile suggestions and prepare a draft of the procedure to appoint judges.
Last month, the top court struck down the law made by the government for appointing judges and ruled that the collegium system - that gives primacy to judges in appointing judges - would stay. The collegium, consisting of five senior most judges of the Supreme Court, appoints Judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. The court also asked for suggestions to improve the collegium system.
The five-judge bench, headed by Justice JS Khehar, began taking up the suggestions for improving the system today. The Centre suggested bringing the collegium's decision under the ambit of the Right to Information Act, disqualifying members of political parties from becoming judges and making names of the candidates public 30 days before the collegium takes them up, to allow objections.
Around 3,500 suggestions have been received from bar associations and others, including top legal minds, on the issues such as transparency in appointments, the criteria for selecting judges and how to deal with complaints against candidates for judicial appointments.
The court told the government that the "memorandum of procedure" should include the establishment of an independent secretariat to help the collegium make judicial appointments. It also said that the task of evaluating complaints against candidates should be shared between the judiciary and the government.