Lawyers seek CJI's recusal from judges' appointment case

NEW DELHI: A lawyers' body is set to move the Supreme Court seeking recusal of Chief Justice TS Thakur from hearing the petitions seeking expeditious filling up of vacancies in high courts, which are functioning at less than 60% strength.

National Lawyers' Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms, through joint secretary AC Philip, has prepared an application to intervene in the pending petitions on Monday. A bench of CJI, Justices DY Chandrachud and LN Rao had slammed the Centre for sitting over the recommendations by the collegium for appointment of high court judges.

It had warned the Centre that if the appointments were not expedited, it would be constrained to summon the secretary in the Prime Minister's Office and justice department secretary to seek explanations on the delay in appointment of judges. The attorney general had sought time till November 11 to report back on the progress in the appointments.

The lawyers' bo dy in its application said judicial propriety demanded that the CJI and Justice Chandrachud recused themselves from hearing the petitions as no one could be a judge in his own case.

NLC president Mathew J Nedumpara told TOI that the CJI, on the administrative side, headed the collegium which recommended to the government the names for appointment as judges of the HCs. "How can the CJI on the judicial side hear petitions and seek expedite implementation of recommendations made by a body headed by him?" he asked.