Will Adopt Complete Transparency And Ensure No External Forces Interfere With SC Collegium Functioning: CJI Gavai

To ensure that there is no 'external interference' in the appointment of judges, the Supreme Court Collegium will be adopting 'complete process of transparency', said Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai on Friday.

The CJI referred to the recent speech delivered by Justice Dipankar Datta of the Supreme Court, who had flagged the issue of interference of "external forces" in the functioning of the SC Collegium and the appointment of judges. 

"I must assure you that we will ensure that we will adopt a complete process of transparency while ensuring that representation is given to all the sections of the society," CJI Gavai said. 

Notably, on June 29, Justice Datta had in a speech in Pune, had stressed the need to tell the society that if judges were to appoint judges, then all the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium would have been acted upon.

"But that doesn't happen. When I was a member of the Calcutta High Court Collegium in 2019, we recommended the appointment of an advocate as a HC judge but that is not yet been acted upon and it's been six years now. Why does it happen? No one questions that. Therefore, the external forces which prevent the collegium recommendations from being acted upon should be dealt with sternly and I feel that whatever proceedings are pending must be given top priority to ensure that merit, merit and only merit is considered and not the extraneous considerations," Justice Datta had said. 

On Friday, CJI Gavai, responding to this, said that the Collegium will be adopting completely transparent process of appointing judges.

"During CJI Khanna's tenure, we have tried to bring in more transparency...From last two days, we held interviews with 54 candidates and yesterday we recommended 34 appointments... I am really happy that today we have two new judges for Bombay High Court and I congratulate them and I am happy that they took oath even before I could enter this building..." CJI Gavai said. 

Pointing out that one of the reasons for the high pendency in Bombay High Court is the 'vacancies', CJI Gavai said, "Insofar as my own High Court is concerned, I can assure that the names, whatever are recommended, we will try to follow it up and as soon as possible, the Bombay HC starts functioning at a full strength so that at least the issue of pendency is resolved at least to some extent..."

The CJI was speaking at his felicitation ceremony held by the Bombay Bar Association (BBA).

In his speech, CJI Gavai reiterated that he and two former CJIs - CJI Sanjeev Khanna and CJI Uday Lalit have tried to dispel the notion that the Supreme Court is a "CJI-centric" court.

"After I became the CJI rather before CJI Sanjeev Khanna and even during tenure of CJI Uday Lalit... I have always clarified that the Supreme Court of India is a court of all the judges... The CJI is only the first among the equals... We have tried to dispell the notion that the SC is a CJI-Centric court..." he said.