Retired judge of the Supreme Court Justice Sanjay Kaul has shared that former Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. He characterised this as seeking the government’s ‘pre-approval’, which erodes the judiciary’s autonomy.
Chandrachud may have discussed proposed names for judgeship with the Union Government even before the collegium met to discuss them.
The original Constitution provided for consultation by the executive with the judiciary before appointments to safeguard judicial independence as well as to ensure quality, as judges are best equipped to assess the professional and technical merits of proposed candidates. Article 124 of the Constitution provides that judges of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President after consulting the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Similarly, Article 217 provides that judges of a High Court shall be appointed by the President after consulting CJI, Chief Justice of the High Court and Governor of the State.
