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Pressure on SC as 7 judges to retire this year
Beginning March 1, seven judges of the Supreme Court will retire this year, even as the apex court is already short of six judges and a recommendation for appointing two judges is pending with the government. On March 1, Justice Amitava Roy will demit office, followed by Justice Rajesh Agrawal on May 4, according to the websites of the Supreme Court and the Law ministry.
New Delhi: Beginning March 1, seven judges of the Supreme Court will retire this year, even as the apex court is already short of six judges and a recommendation for appointing two judges is pending with the government. On March 1, Justice Amitava Roy will demit office, followed by Justice Rajesh Agrawal on May 4, according to the websites of the Supreme Court and the Law ministry.
Friday was the last working day for Justice Roy as the top court will reopen on March 5 after the Holi break. Justice J Chalameswar, the senior-most judge of the top court after the Chief Justice of India, will retire on June 22, followed by Justice Adarsh Goel on July 6, the websites said. CJI Dipak Misra will himself demit office on October 2, followed by Justice Kurian Joseph on November 29 and Justice Madan B Lokur on December 30.
The string of retirements and a shortage of six judges will put pressure on the collegium to nominate names and the government to make appointments at a faster pace. The Supreme Court collegium had last month sent to the government the names of senior advocate Indu Malhotra and Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph for their appointment as judges of the apex court. The government is yet to take a call on the recommendations.
Make appointments time-bound: SC
Favouring time-bound appointments of judges as a norm rather than an exception, the Supreme Court has said inordinate delays belie hopes of litigants. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan expressed concern over the increasing vacancy of judges and inordinate delays at the level of the HC collegium and then by the executive in processing the appointments, while urging the stakeholders to improve the situation.
“Enormous delay in appointment of High Court judges not only frustrates the purpose and object for which Article 224(1) was brought into the Constitution but also belies the hope and trust of litigants who come to the courts seeking justice and early disposal of their cases,” the court observed. Citing a 1993 ruling, the bench maintained that the process of appointment must be initiated at least one month prior to the date of an anticipated vacancy.
“It is also seen that once the names are forwarded, they remain pending at the Executive level for an undue long time before they are sent to the Collegium of the Supreme Court for approval along with the inputs of the Executive. Even after the clearance of the names by the Collegium, these remain pending at the level of the Executive,” said the bench, mentioning how the government also sits on the names.
It may be mentioned here that the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended 37 additional judges in five High Courts to be made permanent.
