This judicial selection needs more than a tweak

The collegium system and the mysteries underlining its decision-making dilute the importance of the High Courts

In recent weeks, the Supreme Court of India’s collegium has been busy. New judges have been appointed to the Court on its advice and long overdue vacancies have been filled up. Now, after a meeting held on September 16, the body has made proposals to alter the existing composition of various High Courts. When these recommendations are notified, new Chief Justices will be appointed to as many as eight different courts, five existing Chief Justices will swap positions with others, and a slew of puisne judges will be moved to new courts.

These recommendations are seen as reflective of a new and proactive collegium. A resolve for swiftness is fine as far as it goes; clearing up vacancies is a minimal requirement of a functioning system. What ought to concern us, though, is that long-standing apprehensions about the collegium’s operation remain unaddressed: specifically, its opacity and a lack of independent scrutiny of its decisions. These misgivings are usually seen in the context of a battle between the executive and the judiciary. Less evident is the effect that the failings have on the status of the High Courts. Today, even without express constitutional sanction, the collegium effectively exercises a power of supervision over each of the High Courts.