The Collegium is Concerned

On Sunday, two of the senior Judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Madan B. Lokur submitted a two-sentence letter to Chief Justice Dipak Misra, seeking a full court discussion on institutional issues and the future of the Supreme Court. The two Judges are a part of the collegium, along with Justice Chelameswar, Justice Kurian Joseph, and the Chief Justice of India. The disquiet in the collegium is known and has been reported on several occasions. In the present instance, after the letter had been submitted, the matter was brought up in the customary Monday meeting of the Supreme Court Judges. The Chief Justice reportedly provided a non-committal  response.

The disquiet in the collegium first became known because of the unprecedented Judges’ press conference in January this year. The conference brought up issues of the CJI's role as the 'master of the roster', and the Judges that participated urged him to take note of the customary procedures involved in the administration of the Supreme Court. In March, Justice Chelameswar penned a letter to the CJI, raising the issue of executive interference in judicial administration. The focus of the letter was on the Law Ministry's act of writing to the CJ of the Karnataka High Court to institute an inquiry in case of a Judge, whose elevation had been approved by the government. The issue raised by Justice Chelameswar was that the executive could have returned the name for reconsideration. Instead, the government chose to accept the recommendation and then call for an inquiry. Justice Joseph wrote to the CJI as well next month, seeking a suo motu hearing on the government's inaction over judicial appointments. Like Justice Chelameswar, he accused the executive of interfering in the judiciary's administrative matters.

A few days before Justice Joseph's letter, senior advocate Shanti Bhushan had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking directions that the decisions of the CJI, as the administrative head of the Supreme Court, be taken by a collegium. Another petition had also been filed by a Lucknow-based lawyer seeking similar relief. The petitions evoked mixed reactions from the Supreme Court. Justice Chelameswar refused to hear Bhushan's petition – stating that he did not want another reversal of his Order within 24 hours. The other petition was dismissed by a Bench headed by the CJI, which stated that there cannot be any presumption of mistrust on the power wielded by the Chief Justice.

The most recent development before Justice Gogoi and Justice Lokur's letter is the doomed impeachment motion. The notice was submitted by 64 Rajya Sabha MPs to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu. Vice President Naidu, however, rejected the motion mostly on semantics. His Order stated that the Constitutional provision regarding impeachment stated the grounds as 'proved misbehaviour' or 'incapacity'. On this basis, the motion was rejected, as the misbehaviour was not 'proved'. Apart from that, some grounds raised were purely administrative matters. This should come as a surprise, since two of the dissatisfied Judges have been accusing the executive of interfering in their administrative matters. With regard to impeachment, Justice Chelameswar was of the opinion that impeachment is not the solution to the issues in the Supreme Court. However, Congress MPs have resolved to move the Supreme Court regarding Naidu’s rejection of  the notice.

Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad stated in this regard that this would be an opportunity for the Supreme Court to demonstrate its impartiality as an institution. He also said that while the judicial functions do not come under the ambit of 'State' as contained in Article 12, the administrative functions should be brought under Fundamental Rights, in particular, Article 14. However, the current imbroglio is unlikely to disappear. Justice Ranjan Gogoi is set to be the next CJI from October this year. It will be interesting to see how this scenario will play out. Justice Chelameswar has said that if Justice Gogoi is superseded, it would only confirm the fears raised by the Judges, during the press conference, earlier this year.

Judges' press conference in January.