Allahabad High Court Judge Writes to PM Modi Over Appointments
Mumbai: A judge of the Allahabad High Court has written a letter to PM Narendra Modi alleging “nepotism and casteism” in the appointment of High Courts and Judges of the Supreme Court.
In his letter, Justice Rang Nath Pandey has highlighted problems with the existing college system for appointment of judges.
In his letter, in Hindi, Justice Pandey said that the process of appointment of judges through the collegium is suffocated with opacity, favouritism and prejudice. “Judges are recommended by the Collegiate on the basis of someone’s liking which is very unfortunate,” he said.
Ready to retire on Thursday, he wrote, “In the last 34 years of my service as a judicial officer, I have appointed people without law or people with bad knowledge as judges.”
Underlining the problems of the collegium system, he alleged that the judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court were selected on a bias based on partiality and favouritism and lobbying for one cup of tea. He said, “The ambiguity of the process is taken care of and the names of future judges are made public only after completion of the entire process.”
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He said that keeping the process secret is a violation of the principles of transparency. He also alleged that while the appointment of relatives of senior judges as judges of High Court is difficult, they are made judges in the subordinate judiciary because the selection and appointment of subordinate judges are done under the State Public Service Commission and related High Court.
Listing the internal affairs of the Supreme Court public, on the basis of conflict of interest or roster, Pandey said that the quality of the judiciary in the country was neutral.
He said that he came from a humble background, but passed a hard and competitive examination and became a judge. Therefore, he said, he urged the PM to establish a system through which a person of ordinary background can also become the Chief Justice of India due to his abilities, hard work and determination.
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