Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Monday recused himself from hearing a PIL challenging the appointment of Nageshwra Rao as CBI interim Director. Since he is to attend a meeting for selecting the new CBI head on January 24, it was best that he stayed away from pronouncing on the validity or otherwise of Rao’s interim appointment. Though Gogoi’s cautionary recusal would prevent the usual suspects to point fingers at him, but it does not surprise how soon after becoming CJI in early October he, too, has been targeted by the same people, including, notably, activist-lawyers, who had hurled wild abuse against his predecessor Dipak Misra.
Gogoi was the darling of the same people, especially after he had addressed a press conference along with three other judges early last year, suggesting collusion between Misra and the governmenty. Less than a month later, the same charge is now being hurled against Gogoi. Aside from a few malcontents in the bar whose attitude towards judges has always been ‘my way or highway’, quite a few people have persuaded themselves that independence of judiciary must always translate into decisions against the government of the day. Even the on-going noises about the elevation of two High Court judges to the apex court, Gogoi has come in for much criticism.
The main charge is that the principle of seniority was abandoned for with these appointments. But nowhere is seniority the sole criterion for higher judicial appointments. Two, this was not the first time that recommendations of the collegium were reconsidered and new names sent to the government for notification. But what is most unfortunate is that a couple of former CJIs, too, joined the critics. Not unlike a number of senior bureaucrats who turn critics of the very system of which they had been an important part, the former CJIs begin to find fault with the higher judiciary unmindful of their own record while they had occupied the same posts not long ago.
Indeed, in the present controversy the supersession of more than two dozen senior HC judges was not unprecedented. Seniority was ignored a number of times in the past as well. Meanwhile, the scheduled meeting for the selection of the new CBI Director on Thursday, January 24, is likely to pose another challenge to the CJI. Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha, who is part of the three-member selection committee, the other two members being Gogoi and the Prime Minister, has already suggested that he would oppose the official candidate. Such negative approach caused Kharge to blindly oppose the appointment of Alok Verma two years ago, though recently after Verma incurred the official rap for exceeding his powers, the same Khrage has now turned a supporter of the same Verma.
Such bitter partisanship would test the commitment of Gogoi for a fair and independent role in the selection committee. He should not abandon his role as an independent arbiter fearing that he would be abused by the likes of Kharge and Prashant Bhushan, the activist lawyer. The bullies would like to browbeat him into submission, but it is the duty of the head of the judiciary to act independently without fearing criticism from the vested interests.