No diversity in judiciary; Collegium system distorting judicial independence: Kerala MP John Brittas in Parliament

During his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha today, Member of Parliament from Kerala John Brittas spoke about the lack of diversity in the Indian judiciary and criticised the system of judicial appointments.

. During his speech on the The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021, the CPI(M) MP spoke about the disproportionately high Brahmanical representation in the Indian judicial system. Brittas said that out of 47 Chief Justices of India, 14 were Brahmins.

"Out of 47 Chief Justices of India till date, at least 14 have been Brahmins. From 1950-1970, the maximum strength of the Supreme Court was 14 judges and 11 out of them were Brahmins...will this august House be shocked to note that till 1980, there was no judge from OBC or SC in the highest court of the country?"

. Brittas went on to speak at length about how the Collegium system of judicial appointments was "distorting the judiciary's independence." He pointed out how the government was silent on questions regarding the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). He specifically called upon Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju to reveal the stance of the government on the issue.

"Is there any system of appointment of judges in the world which is completely shrouded in mystery, darkness and secrecy? Only in India. And the Law Minister is a mute spectator of this system. He doesn't have an emphatic view about this system which is distorting the judiciary's independence...If he doesn't make an emphatic statement, I would say the government finds the present system suitable for pick and choose."

. He went on to state that the government has stymied the appointments of those who are "inconvenient to them," citing the non-elevation of Justice Akil Kureshi as an example.

"I don't want to take names, but can we be oblivious about Justice Akil Qureshi who was not deliberately elevated to the Supreme Court...What was his crime Sir? I would say that he was responsible in sending one of the powerful persons of this dispensation to jail."

In 2010, Justice Kureshi had sent current Union Home Minister Amit Shah to police custody for his alleged involvement in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

He added,

"I am sure the key framer of the Constitution and first Law Minister Dr BR Ambedkar will be turning in his grave seeing how judicial appointments are made and how the judiciary is tampered with."

. During his speech, Brittas pointed out how the High Courts are currently functioning with just 59 per cent of their total strength. He said that 406 posts of judges are lying vacant in the High Courts against the required strength of 1098, "when 57 lakh cases are pending in High Courts alone."

. The MP also criticised certain judgments passed by the Supreme Court in the recent past, including those on the Rafale case, the electoral bonds case, and the failure to deal with petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

. Brittas' maiden speech was later praised by Vice-President of India, Venkaiah Naidu.

"I had occasion to hear the speech of a Member from Kerala, John Brittas. Wonderful, really. I enjoyed it. Next day, to my disappointment, not even a single line of what he spoke in the House was reported in the national media."

. Watch the full speech here.

.Disproportionate representation at the Supreme Court: A perspective based on Caste and Religion of judges

No diversity in judiciary; Collegium system distorting judicial independence: Kerala MP John Brittas in Parliament

Areeb Uddin Ahmed

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