Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 13

With judicial vacancies galore in the Supreme Court and 25 high courts across India, questions are being raised over the functioning of the Collegium system under which judges appoint judges to the higher judiciary.

Revert to old system

If the Collegium can’t appoint judges in time, let’s revert to the old system of judicial appointment. — Vikas Singh, SCBA President

As on date, there are nine vacancies in the apex court, which has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. With another judge (Justice Navin Sinha) scheduled to demit office on August 18, judicial vacancies will rise to 10 in the SC where 69,476 cases are pending.

The Collegium consists of five senior-most judges, including the CJI, for appointment of judges to the SC, while it’s CJI plus two senior-most judges for clearing the names for appointment as HC judges.

The Collegium has failed to recommend names for appointment of judges to the SC after August 28, 2019. Justice RF Nariman, who demitted the office on Thursday, reportedly insisted on elevating two senior-most HC judges — Karnataka HC Chief Justice Abhay S Oka and Tripura HC Chief Justice Akil Kureshi — to the top court

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