The Supreme Court on Wednesday (16 December) directed the central government to prepare a memorandum of procedure that will be followed by the supreme court collegium in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. Pronouncing the order, the apex court constitution bench comprising of Justices Jagdish Singh Khehar, J. Chelameswar, Madan B. Lokur, Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel, said that the government will prepare the memorandum of procedure in consultation with the Chief Justice of India who in turn will undertake the exercise with the unanimous opinion of the five-member collegium.
The collegium consists of Chief Justice of India and the four senior most judges immediately following him.
The Constitution bench held that following factors shall be taken into consideration while preparing the Memorandum of Procedure:
(1) Eligibility criteria:
The Memorandum of Procedure may indicate the eligibility criteria, such as the minimum age, for the guidance of the collegium (both at the level of the High Court and the Supreme Court) for appointment of Judges, after inviting and taking into consideration the views of the State Government and the Government of India (as the case may be) from time to time.
(2) Transparency in the appointment process:
The eligibility criteria and the procedure as detailed in the Memorandum of Procedure for the appointment of Judges ought to be made available on the website of the Court concerned and on the website of the Department of Justice of the Government of India. The Memorandum of Procedure may provide for an appropriate procedure for minuting the discussions including recording the dissenting opinion of the Judges in the collegium while making provision for the confidentiality of the minutes consistent with the requirement of transparency in the system of appointment of Judges.
(3) Secretariat:
In the interest of better management of the system of appointment of Judges, the Memorandum of Procedure may provide for the establishment of a Secretariat for each High Court and the Supreme Court and prescribe its functions, duties and responsibilities.
(4) Complaints:
The Memorandum of Procedure may provide for an appropriate mechanism and procedure for dealing with complaints against anyone who is being considered for appointment as a Judge.
(5) Miscellaneous:
The Memorandum of Procedure may provide for any other matter considered appropriate for ensuring transparency and accountability including interaction with the recommendee(s) by the collegium of the Supreme Court, without sacrificing the confidentiality of the appointment process.
The full judgment of the Supreme Court is available online here.
