Govt Returned 10 Proposals Reiterated By Supreme Court Collegium: Law Minister Rijiju Tells Parliament

Amid an ongoing tiff between the Executive and the Judiciary over the procedure to appoint judges, the government has asked the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider 10 proposals reiterated by it, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Parliament on Thursday (9 February).

"Out of these 10 proposals, the SC Collegium has reiterated its earlier recommendation for appointment in three cases. On the remaining seven reiterated proposals, the collegium has sought additional inputs from the high court collegium," Rijiju said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

"10 proposals reiterated by SCC (Supreme Court Collegium) were recently referred back to the SCC for reconsideration" the minister said.

In view of various reports/ input received by Government, which in the opinion of the Government warrant further consideration by the Collegium, the Government has sent such reiterated cases for reconsideration as was done in the past as well, Rijiju explained.

"There have been instances in the past when the SCC had agreed to the views expressed by the Government and recalled its reiterated recommendations," the minister added.

As per the existing Memorandum of Procedure on appointment of High Court Judges, the proposal is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court in consultation with two senior most puisne Judges of the High Court," the minister said.

The Union Law Ministr then considers the "recommendations in the light of such other reports as may be available to the government in respect of the names under consideration," he said.

The complete material is then forwarded to the Chief Justice of India for his advice.

Accordingly, the government sends all proposals received from the High Court Collegiums to the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for advice.

The government appoints only those persons whose names have been recommended by the SCC as Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, the minister said.

(With inputs from PTI)