Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks on judiciary, Collegium system uncalled for: Former SC judges Madan Lokur and Deepak Gupta

Days after Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed that the Central government would not be 'silent' forever over the 'lack of transparency' in the Collegium system, two former judges of the Supreme Court - Justices Madan Lokur and Deepak Gupta - have questioned the transparency on the government's part in appointing judges..In an interview with NDTV, Justice Lokur underscored that the recent comments made by Rijiju criticising the judiciary were totally 'unwarranted and uncalled for.'"It is not the judiciary in fact it is the government, which is creating the problem. In September, the Collegium had recommended name of Justice Dipankar Datta, the present Chief Justice of Bombay High Court to be elevated to the Supreme Court. But the government has done nothing on this and is just sitting over the file. Even with regards to the transfer of Justice S Muralidhar, the government has not done anything," Justice Lokur said..Justice Gupta agreed with the views and expressed concern over the attitude of the government when it comes to some recommendations of the Collegium."Justice Datta's name was unanimously recommended. He is a judge of 2006 batch but was overlooked initially for becoming Chief Justice of some High Court and this was only to ensure that he does not become the Chief Justice of India. The government has the right to disagree but where is this disagreement recorded and given to the Collegium?".The judges pointed out that the government has come up with a method of 'sitting over' the files of recommendations sent by the Collegium."This new method adopted by the government to sit over the files is going to cause great damage...That poor man (Justice Datta) is suffering for no fault of his," Justice Gupta bemoaned.To avoid such a situation, the judge said the Collegium must insist that the government clear the recommendations made earlier and only then send fresh names."Otherwise, this would be a method of holding the Collegium to ransom. It would be like we will sit over the files you keep sending fresh names," Justice Gupta said..Justice Lokur cautioned that the recent remarks of the Law Minister must be taken as a warning for the Collegium to make the requisite changes, failing which it would be 'decimated.'"The Collegium must have some positive changes. The present members of the Collegium need to discuss everything threadbare. They need to do it immediately before the government launches an attack on the Collegium and replaces it. The recent remarks of the Law Minister are a clear indication that the government is going to move very quickly," Justice Lokur warned.Justice Gupta added, "The way this government functions, I do not think you can have the total control of the government over appointment of judges. It would lead to a disaster.".As regards the issue of transparency in the Collegium system itself, the judges agreed to the fact that not everything is perfect with the present mechanism for appointing judges. They opined that the Collegium needs to bring in some changes so that there is more transparency.The two judges even advocated the implementation of the judgment in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) case to overcome the opaqueness in the Collegium's functioning. .Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday made it clear to the Central government that keeping Collegium recommendations on hold was not acceptable.During the hearing of a plea filed by the Advocates Association Bengaluru questioning the Centre's failure to process the names recommended for appointment, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul pointed out that there are 11 names pending approval, the oldest of which dates back to September 2021."This implies that the government neither appoints the names nor communicates its reservations, if any. There are also 10 names pending with the government which have been reiterated by the Supreme Court Collegium," he said.The Court thus sought a response from the Union Law Secretary on the pending recommendations and reiterations made by the Collegium.."Keeping Collegium recommendations on hold not acceptable": Supreme Court issues notice to Union Law Secretary