SC collegium cleared men of 'doubtful integrity' as HC judges in 2001

NEW DELHI: Just three years after the judiciary wrested from the executive the power to choose judges for appointment to the Supreme Court and high courts, the Chief Justice of India-headed collegium had in 2001 forced the then NDA government to appoint two men of “doubtful integrity" as high court judges despite the President's reservations.
Among hundreds of HC judges selected by the collegium in the last 20 years, the Centre had last week submitted a list of eight “bad appointments" to a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice J S Khehar. Appointment of these two judges from Jammu and Kashmir in 2001 figured prominently in the list.

Sometime early in 2000, the collegium considered two names from J&K ­ S K Gupta and Brij Lal Bhat ­ for appointment as HC judges. As was the practice, it sought the views of then sitting SC judge Justice R P Sethi, who hailed from the J&K high court.

Justice Sethi described both as men of “doubtful integrity". After deliberations on August 17, 2000, the SC-headed collegium decided to hold back Gupta's name and sent a recommendation to the President for appointment of Bhat as HC judge. The President asked the collegium to reconsider.

The President perused the file and sent the recommendation back to the collegium for reconsideration. He asked on what basis the collegium had recommended the name of one, Brij Lal Bhat, for appointment as HC judge and deferred the other -S K Gupta ­ when Justice R P Sethi, who hailed from J&K HC, had given similar remarks about the integrity of the two.

The President's reservation was debated in the collegium. After more than seven months, the collegium on April 2, 2001 strangely decided to recommend the names of both Gupta and Bhat to the President for appointment as HC judges.

Since the SC judgment had declared that reiteration of a recommendation by the collegium would be binding on the President, the then NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee had no option but to advice the President to approve the appointments despite an SC judge having categorically said that they were of “doubtful integrity" and not suitable for appointment as judges.

In 1998, a nine-judge bench had laid down the elaborate framework for the collegium system headed by the CJI and had provided that the President could seek reconsideration of a proposed name for appointment as HC judge by the collegium. However, if the collegium reiterated the name, the President would have no option but to appoint him.