Justice Rohinton Nariman suggests having Collegium with retired judges, urges courts to protect media from tax raids

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Nariman on Friday suggested that independent, retired judges should be directly involved in the system of appointing Supreme Court and High Court judges, to replace the present Collegium system of appointments..Justice Nariman acknowledged that the present Collegium system has its flaws, but added that there was no better alternative for the present. "We do have a Collegium system, which is the worst, but then there is nothing better. I would suggest, and this is not for the near future, this is for the distant future - I would suggest we have a Collegium of retired judges," he said. He added that the retired judges constituting such a revised Collegium could be selected by practicing advocates of the Supreme Court and High Courts."The Bar are our judges and we are judged all the time by practicing advocates. It is important to have practicing bars who vote for retired judges who are known for their independence and who would then sit with a secretariat, consult everybody and ultimately recommend persons for the higher judiciary," the former judge explained. .We do have a Collegium system, which is the worst, but then there is nothing better. I would suggest we have a Collegium of retired judges.Justice Rohinton Nariman .He further observed that the present bunch of judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts include outstanding judges, but also judges who are "in transit" and some judges who are more "executive-minded. "With the revised Collegium system in place, Justice Nariman opined that the gap in the proportion of these kinds of judges could drastically change for the better. .The retired Supreme Court judge made these comments while delivering the 30th Bansari Sheth Endowment Lecture at the Asiatic Library Society in Mumbai on the topic, Constitution of India: Checks and Balances..Justice Nariman began his lecture by expressing concern that disturbing things have been happening in India in the recent past. .In this regard, he referred to four such disturbing events that took place earlier this year, beginning with the Central government's ban on a BBC documentary, namely 'India: The Modi Question’ which dealt with the 2002 Gujarat riots."In the beginning of the year, you had a BBC documentary, in fact there were two documentaries, speaking about our present Prime Minister, (then) Chief Minister of Gujarat. They were promptly banned. And after the ban, the BBC was harassed with tax raids upon it," the former judge noted. .To avoid such incidents in the future, Justice Nariman stated that the moment there is any onslaught on the media, courts should end it. "The moment there is any onslaught on the media, the courts must be vigilant to instantly scorch it. If you find that some independent reporting has led to something, as a result of which there is a tax raid - then for that reason alone, without more, you must say the tax raid is illegal and unconstitutional. That is the only way you can protect the media in this country. Otherwise, you are finished. It (Media) is our watchdog and if our watchdog is killed, then there is nothing that remains," Justice Nariman opined. .The lecture also saw him flag concerns over how the Supreme Court dealt with the Article 370 case concerning the withdrawal of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, how Governors have been appointed and how they function, and the recent bill concerning the appointment of Election Commissioners. .The former judge added that the bill on the appointment of Election Commissioners, which would likely become an Act soon, must be struck down as unconstitutional since it impairs the independence of the Election Commission. "When this matter comes up before the Supreme Court, I hope that this Bill, which will now become an Act, will be struck down. I sincerely hope. If it is not, it is fraught with the greatest danger to democracy, that I can say," the former judge said. Read what Justice Nariman said about Article 370 judgment here.Read what Justice Nariman said on bill about Elections Commissioners here. .[Live coverage of the event below].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.