A Permanent Commission comprising the Chief Justice of India and four retired judges could be constituted for five years to appoint judges and ensure the independence of the judiciary, Rohinton Fali Nariman, former judge of the Supreme Court of India, said here on Sunday.
In an award function organised by juniors of former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu S. Govind Swaminadhan, Mr. Nariman conferred the ‘SGS Award for Ethics in the Legal Profession’ on Justice Akil Kureshi, former Chief Justice of the High Courts of Tripura and Rajasthan.
Speaking at the event on the topic Importance of the independence of the judiciary and what needs to be done, Mr. Nariman explained the functioning of the judiciary in the U.S. and the U.K. and summarised the evolution of the judiciary in India after Independence, through various cases, particularly related to appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.
“The independence of the judiciary evolved and it was declared as the basic structure of the Constitution. Every article will be viewed in the light of this principle. When it is mandatory for the government to consult the Chief Justice, it is not merely consultation. It is concurrence. This judgment entirely turned the table and judicial appointments are now entirely in the hands of judges,” he said.
He suggested a system to appoint judges: “A permanent commission comprising the Chief Justice of India and four retired judges could be constituted for five years. The selection of retired judges to the Commission could be done by the 33 Supreme Court judges, excluding the Chief Justice, based on the suggestions of select practising lawyers of the Supreme Court and High Court Bars...”
Mr. Kureshi said that independence of the judiciary should be ensured at institutional and personal levels. According to him, judges should have courage, a spotlessly clean image and a total lack of personal ambition on a personal level.
On the institutional level, he spoke about various features of the collegium and roster systems. “Judicial independence is not only about independence from executive interference.
Any action, honour and judgment that a judge delivers, which is different from his legal understanding, is going away from judicial independence. We cannot have an independent judiciary without an active, vociferous and an independent Bar.”
P.S. Raman, Advocate General of Tamil Nadu, and senior advocate Sriram Panchu spoke about various aspects of the judiciary. Incumbent and retired judges, advocates and college students, among others, participated in the event.
