Anita Thakur, Assistant Professor, Sheds Law College, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
ABSTRACT
The Supreme Court of India and the High Courts, described as the most powerful judiciary in the world, are witnessing dramatic changes in their institutional structure. Although controversial, this represents a much- needed reform of the older collegium system. That system was a judge devised practice of appointment that evolved out of the ‘three-judges’ cases wherein Chief Justice of India along with a panel of senior-most judges would make a binding recommendation to the President on the appointees. This model was a reaction to blatant favoritism by the executive that marked appointments until the Supreme Court decided to charges of favoritism, the collegiums relied on seniority, which only encouraged more mediocracy.
This brief history of judicial appointments in India points to the significance of judicial independence to the appointments process. The need for an independent judiciary provided the underpinning for the initial system envisaged by the drafters, and every reform instituted or recommended thereafter by the Supreme Court, the Law Commission of India or the government. Today, as the collegium system of appointment faces considerable strain, judicial independence is again at the forefront, used both by advocates and critics of the collegium to buttress their position. Reforms seems imminent, motivated by the fundamental need to protect judicial independence and restore public confidence in the judiciary as an impartial arbiter of disputes
Keywords: Collegium, appointment, Supreme Court, High Court, Independence, Judiciary.
