High Courts packed with favourites: CJI
CJI said meritorious District judges are seldom appointed in HC.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: In a damning admission of past malpractices in selection of judges to High Courts, Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Friday said that the bright and meritorious among District Judges were seldom appointed as judges of HCs.
Chief Justices of HCs have been used to following a pick and choose policy to push their favoured candidates, the CJI said.
"The anamoly has been corrected. Whenever a vacancy in a High Court arises, we now follow a policy to consider all District Judges who have not crossed the age of 58.5 years," Justice Balakrishnan said.
"By scrupulously adhering to this policy we have eliminated the grievance of the District Judges," the CJI said while sitting on a Bench also comprising Justices P Sathasivam and Deepak Verma.
Senior advocate P P Rao, appearing for two District Judges, was expressing his clients' grievance that they had not been considered for the post of High Court judges. He asked if there was a policy to ensure equity, would it not be better that the judiciary adopt it as a written rule.
The CJI said: "Earlier, HC CJs used to delay recommending names of District Judges and waited for seniors among them to retire so as to forward names of their favoured one. But now each and every District Judge who has not crossed the age of 58.5 years is taken in the zone of consideration for elevation to the HCs as judges."
The CJI was against making the policy a written rule. He said: "There are a lot of advocates who are appointed to the HCs as judges. Could we possibly frame a written policy regarding the manner in which their names are considered? Then every advocate would file a petition alleging that his name had not been considered for the post of HC judge."
"By scrupulously following the new policy we have brought in reasonableness, which was not there earlier. The selection process has been streamlined. But, no one has a right to get promotion. They have a right to be considered for the post. When the right to promotion is absent, there could not be a service rule or written policy regarding that," he clarified.
Chief Justices of HCs have been used to following a pick and choose policy to push their favoured candidates, the CJI said.
"The anamoly has been corrected. Whenever a vacancy in a High Court arises, we now follow a policy to consider all District Judges who have not crossed the age of 58.5 years," Justice Balakrishnan said.
"By scrupulously adhering to this policy we have eliminated the grievance of the District Judges," the CJI said while sitting on a Bench also comprising Justices P Sathasivam and Deepak Verma.
Senior advocate P P Rao, appearing for two District Judges, was expressing his clients' grievance that they had not been considered for the post of High Court judges. He asked if there was a policy to ensure equity, would it not be better that the judiciary adopt it as a written rule.
The CJI said: "Earlier, HC CJs used to delay recommending names of District Judges and waited for seniors among them to retire so as to forward names of their favoured one. But now each and every District Judge who has not crossed the age of 58.5 years is taken in the zone of consideration for elevation to the HCs as judges."
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The CJI was against making the policy a written rule. He said: "There are a lot of advocates who are appointed to the HCs as judges. Could we possibly frame a written policy regarding the manner in which their names are considered? Then every advocate would file a petition alleging that his name had not been considered for the post of HC judge."
"By scrupulously following the new policy we have brought in reasonableness, which was not there earlier. The selection process has been streamlined. But, no one has a right to get promotion. They have a right to be considered for the post. When the right to promotion is absent, there could not be a service rule or written policy regarding that," he clarified.
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