Supreme Court Collegium can't dictate what names High Courts should recommend for judgeship: CJI BR Gavai

The Supreme Court is not superior to the High Court and the Supreme Court Collegium cannot dictate how the High Court Collegiums are expected to choose candidates who are recommended for High Court judgeship, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai said on Friday.

Speaking at an Independence Day event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), CJI BR Gavai observed that the High Courts take the first call on which names are recommended when it comes to the appointment of judges of High Courts.

"The Supreme Court is not a superior court to the High Court. Both the Supreme Court and High Courts are the constitutional courts. And insofar as the constitutional scheme is concerned, they are neither inferior nor superior to each other. Therefore, the first call has to be taken by the High Court Collegium. We only recommend the names to the High Court Collegium and request them to consider the names. And only after their satisfaction, the names come to the Supreme Court," CJI Gavai said.

The CJI made the comment in response to certain concerns flagged by SCBA President Vikas Singh.

Singh in his speech today said that the lawyers who are appointed as High Court judges are often only those that High Court judges see arguing before them. As a result, briefing counsel and even lawyers practicing before the Supreme Court may be overlooked for elevation to the Bench.

He batted for the creation of a database with the names of candidates who are seen as eligible for judgeship in the interest of transparency in the appointment of judges.

He added that Supreme Court lawyers' names should also be part of this database so they can be regularly considered for elevation as High Court judges.

Responding to these concerns, CJI Gavai said,

"Insofar as the demand made by Mr. Vikas Singh is concerned that the lawyers who only argue (before High Courts) are being recommended, ultimately, even the Supreme Court Collegium cannot dictate the High Court Collegium to recommend the names."

However, the CJI also noted that the Supreme Court Collegium has had some success in recommending the appointment of Supreme Court lawyers as judges of High Courts.

“I along with my senior colleagues have been successful in getting the names of some of the candidates, who are practicing here, not only recommended to various High Courts, but also some of them have already been appointed over the years. We are also in the process of recommending some more names,” he said.

He further backed the practice of personally meeting candidates before they are appointed judges.

“With former CJI Sanjiv Khanna, we started the practice of interacting with the candidates. After interaction with them for 10-15 minutes or half an hour, we can find out as to how suitable they would be to contribute to the society," he said.

He urged the gathering to remember the contributions of Indian freedom fighters, adding that lawyers and judges have a duty to uphold the Constitution of India and recognise that no cause is too small to merit attention.

“As legal professionals, you must recognize that no cause is too small to merit your attention. What may appear to be a minor dispute or a trivial grievance to one may, in fact, be a matter of life, dignity or survival for another. Every case you handle and every argument you advance contributes to the moral and social fabric of our nation. For judges, this responsibility carries an even deeper dimension. Beyond the letter of the law, we must strive to give a broader and more purposive interpretation to the values of the Constitution. We must interpret the law in ways that expand freedom, protect the rights of the marginalized and strengthen the rule of law," he said.

Responding to SCBA President Vikas Singh’s request for a permanent flag post on the Supreme Court lawns, CJI Gavai assured it would be ready by the end of November this year.

In his speech, SCBA President Vikas Singh recounted that he had earlier suggested the introduction of a law to regulate the collegium system.

The idea was to have a secretariat for judges to maintain names of those eligible for appointment as future judges to ensure that best people from the system are considered for elevation as judges.

"Unfortunately, it did not see the light of day," he added.

Singh went on to note that though the NJAC judgment referred to a Memorandum of Procedure to streamline judge appointments, it has not been deliberated upon for several years.

He expressed hope that it would be taken up soon to bring transparency in judges’ appointments.

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