Kerala Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup laments delay by Executive in appointing judges to High Courts

Advocate General of Kerala, Gopalakrishna Kurup K on Friday took exception to the delay by the Central government in clearing names recommended by Collegium for appointment as High Court judges. .He said that there are many vacancies in various High Courts of the country on account of the Executive not processing Collegium recommendations within a definite time frame."It has to be noted that there are many vacancies in various High Courts of the country on account of the Executive not processing in a definite time frame, the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium regarding the elevation of judges," he said.It is also a matter of concern that no single appointment has been made to the apex court for almost two years with vacancies increasing to nine as of now, Kurup added.He was speaking at the swearing in of two newly appointed judges, Justice Viju Abraham and Justice Mohammed Nias Chovvakkaran Puthiyapurayil.They were sworn in as additional judges of the Kerala High Court with Chief Justice S Manikumar administering the oath of office..The Central Government had notified their appointment on Wednesday. The appointment will be for a period of two years with effect from the date on which they assume charge.The appointment happened more than two years after the Collegium recommended their names. Speaking about the delay, Kurup said: "The momentous occasion for our bar, as is today, has been in the waiting for too long considering the fact that their lordships' names were recommended by the Collegium of the Kerala High Court more than two years ago. But for the procedural delays in processing the resolution of the Apex Court recommending their names, his lordships would have adorned the benches of this hallowed institution at an earlier point of time. Though never being late is better, it is also said it's better late than never.".Interestingly, he also referred to a similar delay by the government in clearing a judge of the Kerala High Court for appointment to the Supreme Court in an apparent reference to delay in elevation of Justice KM Joseph. "At this juncture, we are also reminded of the anguish expressed at the time of elevation by another learned sitting judge of this Court who had to undergo the same ordeal of delayed processing by the Executive of the recommendation of the collegium of the Supreme Court regarding his elevation," he said..He also spoke highly of the fact that the elevation of a judge from the Bar is also a recognition of the Bar's heightened professional standards, legal acumen and integrity. "The Indian Judiciary has consistently been the vanguard of the rule of law imbibed in the basic structure of our constitution. It has always been the last resort of a citizen from authoritarian excesses," he opined. However, he also pointed out how the judiciary has been getting heightened public attention due to "social media revolution". "Our judiciary is at present, seemingly at crossroads. The pandemic induced force majeure situation has compelled the entire justice dispensation system in the country to be on virtual mode. The increased public attention, often of legally untrained minds, being showered on the process of judging, facilitated particularly by the social media revolution has resulted in unwanted negative criticism, many a times uninformed about the judiciary," he said.Coupled with this is the recent popular perception that the executive is trying to assert itself and impose itself on the judiciary, he said. "In such a situation, the judiciary needs to be steered by judges of a constitutional conviction who are capable to dispensing justice unmindful of public perception and who are obligated only to safeguard judicial independence. Fortunately, our judiciary is blessed with a vast majority of judges of like nature. The two judges sworn in today are also definitely of that genre," Kurup added.President of the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association, Advocate Thomas Abraham also spoke on the occasion to welcome the new judges..Justice Viju Abraham enrolled as a lawyer with the Bar Council of Kerala 1996 after graduating from the Government Law College. Justice Abraham had served as a government pleader from 2004 to 2007 and as a senior government pleader from 2011 to 2016..Justice Mohammed Nias CP was born in Thrissur and graduated from the Government Law College, Kozhikode in 1995. He was the counsel for Greater Cochin Development Authority, Calicut University, State Cooperative Union among others..Justice Abraham was recommended for elevation by the Supreme Court Collegium in May 2019 and Justice Mohammed was recommended for elevation by in March 2019.Their elevation was later reiterated by the Supreme Court Collegium along with that of Paul KK earlier this year.