#NJAC: “Separate Secretariat, make 3-step selection process public – Read the Centre’s collegium suggestions

The Central government has suggested establishment of a Secretariat in the Supreme Court as well as each High Court for researching and collecting information to assess those who may be elevated to the Bench..It has also recommended that the three step process explained by Justice Madan B Lokur in his judgment should be clarified and made publicly known..The suggestions made by the Central government today will not, however, be final since the Court today decided that it will accept inputs with respect to four parameters, namely.TransparencyEligibility criteriaSecretariat andDealing with complaints.Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand has been tasked with the duty of collecting inputs from the Respondents while Senior Advocate Arvind Datar will submit the suggestions from the petitioners’ side. A fresh set of suggestions will be submitted on Thursday..The Centre’s suggestions, which it was proposing to submit to Court today, will nevertheless have a bearing on the final draft which will be submitted to the Court by the respondents on Thursday..Below are excerpts from Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi’s submissions..Efficiency.Pointing out the large number of vacancies in the High Courts, the Central government has suggested that the High Court Collegium should recommend names of prospective candidates at least six months in advance of the actual occurrence of the vacancy. Likewise, the Supreme Court Collegium has also been urged to adhere to a three-month period..It is under this head that the Centre has suggested establishment of a Secretariat in the Supreme Court and each High Court for researching the credentials of candidates. It has recommended that the Secretariat should have a senior officer-in-charge and other staff as necessary. The Secretariat will be tasked with collecting information like age, number of cases appeared (for candidates from the Bar), number of judgment delivered (for existing judges) income level, academic speeches etc..Transparency.The most pressing problem for legal pundits has been the opaqueness of the Collegium system. The Centre has suggested that well defined criteria should be prescribed by the Court for appointing judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court. The criteria could include, inter alia, merit, seniority, integrity, issues of representativeness like gender, geography and other factors..Most importantly the Centre has said that the three step process explained by Justice Madan B Lokur in his judgment should be disclosed and made publicly known..In the first step, the Collegium can make nominations or call for applications of interested candidates. In the second step, a consultative process involving a committee of eminent process is to be followed. The nominations/ application received are to be forwarded to this committee and their inputs will be considered for arriving at a final decision. The last step would be a closed door interview of the candidates..Though the Centre has merely suggested that this three step process be made publicly known, it appears that it is in agreement with the implementation of this process with the object of bringing in transparency to the appointments..It has further suggested that the proceedings of the Collegium should be recorded in writing and transferred to the National Archives of India after 30 years so that it can be used for research..Transfers.Under this last head, the Centre has suggested that transfer of High Court judges should be made only on account of administrative exigencies, conflict of interest with relatives practising at the Bar or on a request made by the concerned judge..Besides these, the Central government has also suggested that an Annual Report of Appointments, containing details of number of appointments and the process followed, should be published and made publicly available.