PIL in Supreme Court challenges former CJI P Sathasivam's appointment as governor of Kerala

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has been urged to bar former judges from accepting appointments made by the executive or ensure that these are made in consultation with the chief justice of India.

The petition was filed by a social worker named Mohamed Ali in the backdrop of former CJI P Sathasivam being appointed governor of Kerala. The appointment, the first such in post-Independent India’s judicial history, created a stir both in political as well as judicial circles. It questioned the appointment of several counts: whether a former CJI could be appointed as Governor, a constitutionally lower position than the CJI’s post which Sathasivam held earlier.

“Such a hasty and ill-advised act on the part of the former CJI is totally unwarranted and not in line with the virtues… of a Supreme Court judge and would affect independence of the judiciary and is bound to tarnish the image of the Indian judiciary.”

The PIL pointed out that the former CJI would now be administered his oath by an officer below his rank, i.e., the Chief Justice of the High Court, or in his absence the senior-most judge, lowering the dignity of the post. “… such appointments might lead to erosion of public confidence in the judiciary, even if the judge had acted impartially during his tenure.”