Unprecedented: Supreme Court Collegium Makes Reasons For Recommendations Public

Yesterday (31 January), the Supreme Court collegium under the leadership of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud recommended the names of Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, and Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice Gujarat High Court, for appointment as Supreme Court judges.

In a first, the Supreme Court collegium, in the official resolution published on the Supreme Court website, gave detailed reasoning for considering the two names suitable for appointment in the Supreme Court.

As per the statement issued, the resolution was unanimous with respect to the appointment of Justice Rajesh Bindal, however with respect to elevation of Justice Aravind Kumar, reservations were expressed by Justice K M Joseph.

The resolution stated that while recommending the two names, the collegium took into consideration the seniority of the judges in their parent High Courts and their overall seniority on all India basis.

Furthermore, their merit, performance and integrity were also considered before recommending their names. In addition, the diversity and representation of High Courts not adequately represented in the Supreme Court were also considered, the statement said.

The resolution states that the judgements authored by the two judges falling in the zone of consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court were circulated among the members of the collegium for a meaningful discussion and assessment of their judicial acumen.

On 13 December, 2022, the collegium recommended five names for appointment to Supreme Court, and therefore it was made clear in this statement that the appointment of five judges should be notified by the government separately and earlier in point of time before the two judges recommended by the present resolution.

While, the reasons for appointment are not exhaustive and subjective reasons have been given, and as such no substantive points have been issued, but since it is a starting point, the collegium did a great job in the sense that it is a first when reasons for considering names have been publicly issued.