Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Thursday said that the administrative side of the Supreme Court was currently discussing the issue of delay in judicial appointments with the Central government.
The CJI said this in the Apex Court, when Senior Advocate Arvind Datar and Advocate Prashant Bhushan jointly mentioned the petitions seeking directions to the Union of India to act on Collegium recommendations in a time-bound manner.
Listing the matter for hearing after two weeks, he revealed that the ongoing efforts from the administrative side of the Apex Court have resulted in some of the names already being cleared by the Union government.
Senior Advocate Datar said the matter was last listed before the single-judge Bench of Justice SK Kaul on December 5, 2023, however, it was deleted from the list at the last moment.
Several names recommended in 2019 and reiterated in 2021 & 2022 were still pending with the Centre, the Senior Counsel pointed out, adding that he had prepared a list of the recommendations pending before the Union of India.
He contended that Advocates Rajesh Datar and Shwetashree Majumdar have withdrawn their consent for judgeship in the High Courts of Bombay and Delhi respectively due to the delay on part of the Union government in notifying their appointments.
CJI Gavai lamented Advocate Majumdar’s decision, calling her an extraordinary lawyer.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for another petitioner, said that she was the topper of National Law School.
Senior Advocate Datar submitted that as the names of Advocates remained pending for many years, it led to loss of their seniority.
Advocate Bhushan pointed out that the lawyers also lost interest in the process.
Noting that the Apex Court had laid down guidelines for the time to be taken for various stages of judicial appointments, Datar said a delay of 3-4 years on part of the government was not acceptable.
Bhushan requested the top court of the country to consider fixing timelines as it did in case of Governors regarding pending state Bills.
The CJI told Bhushan not to speak of that issue since it was pending before a Constitution Bench.
The Apex Court is currently hearing a batch of petitions regarding delay in judicial appointments by the Central government. These include a petition filed by the Advocates Association Bengaluru against the Union Law Secretary for the breach of timelines set by the Apex Court and a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause.