Fall of Supreme Court started when it grabbed the power to appoint Judges: Dushyant Dave

In a brief and candid talk delivered by Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave on Friday, he expressed his reservations against the existing system of appointment of Judges, saying that the Collegium system is opaque and works on "give and take.".Dave was chairing the event where Justice (retd.) AP Shah delivered a lecture on the "Decline of the Supreme Court: Forgotten freedoms and Eroded Rights." During his lecture, Justice (retd.) Shah opined that the Supreme Court's decline visibly began when there was a change in the dispensation in 2014..Dave, however, respectfully disagreed with this and opined that the fall of the Apex Court, in fact, began when it, back in 1992, "grabbed the power to appoint Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts."."The Collegium system works on give and take... the practice of scratching each other's backs practised by Judges, we cannot even criticise it or we will be held accountable and in contempt."Dushyant Dave.Suggesting that the Collegium system worked like a club or a "cabal", Dave said that the system was opaque and almost undemocratic considering that every Judge in the Collegium comes with his own set of recommendations to make.."Judges who are being appointed are not all at par... of course there are good judges appointed also... but administrative powers are being abused by the Collegium across the country."Dushyant Dave.Dave opined that when the Constitution framers drafted the Constitution, they envisioned the independence of the three pillars and a separation of powers. However, he added that they did not foresee the situation that India is facing right now, where Executive pressure may lead to overpowering the Judiciary in terms of judicial appointments. In this backdrop, Dave also said that in his opinion, the "Collegium system has to be dyamited"..A strong judicial system is ensured when the Bench and Bar work in tandem, Dave said underscoring the problematic trend of where the members of the Bar do not raise their voice against the Judges or the Courts.."Judiciary works because of both Bar and the Bench, but today where is the Bar? They come on TV but do they ever speak against the Judiciary? The fallen standards of the Bar is something to be worried about."Dushyant Dave.Not just the Bar, Dave said that the collective conscience of the people of India needed to be stirred since people appear to have forgotten to stand up for their rights or for what is right or wrong..In his brief address, Dave also made a call for the dignity and conscience of the citizenry to be stirred at a time when in India, the rule of law appears to be absent..Justice (retd.) AP Shah had delivered his memrorial lecture at the event prior to Dave's address.."Ghosts of ADM Jabalpur may have returned to haunt us again", Justice AP Shah on decline of Supreme Court.Justice Shah's lecture was preceded by the conferring of the Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer lifetime achievement award, 2020 on Justice Hosbet Suresh posthumously. The memento and cash award for the same was accepted by Justice Suresh's daughters on his behalf..The event was moderated by Senior Advocate Mihir Desai and activist Teesta Setalvad.

Fall of Supreme Court started when it grabbed the power to appoint Judges: Dushyant Dave

Shruti Mahajan

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