Supreme Court Judges Appointment: Justice (Retd) Madan Lokur Breaks Silence on Collegium Decision, Says ‘Disappointed’
Supreme Court Justice (Retd) Madan Lokur stated that he was not informed about the change in the decision on the appointment of judges.
New Delhi, January 24: Days after Karnataka High Court Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Delhi High Court Judge Sanjeev Khanna were elevated as Justices of the Supreme Court judges, Justice (retired) Madan Lokur – a member of that Collegium – expressed his ‘disappointment’ after the new resolution was not made public. Earlier the collegium had recommended the elevation of Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court and Delhi High Court judge to the apex court, which was later turned down.
Expressing his dissatisfaction over the change in the decision, Justice (retired) Madan Lokur – on being asked to upload the December 12, 2018 decision on the website – said that there is no reason to request the CJI. He said, as reported by the Indian Express, “There is no reason to ask (the CJI) to upload the resolution. That is something that this done, once a resolution is taken…there is no standard of procedure on what should be done after a resolution…once a resolution is passed, I expect that the decision to be uploaded. It does disappoint me that the resolution passed on December 12 was not put up on the (SC) website.” Nothing Wrong in Narendra Modi Visiting Supreme Court, Says Justice Madan B Lokur.
Earlier the Collegium – which recommends the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court – had set aside its December 12, 2018 resolution on January 12, 2019, on the appointment of Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice – Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, and Delhi High Court Chief Justice – Justice Rajendra Menon. Instead, it recommended Karnataka High Court Chief Justice – Justice Chief Justice and Delhi High Court judge – Sanjeev Khanna – who were sworn in last week.
Retired on December 30, Justice Lokur while answering to question whether he was being informed about the change in appointment, he said, as the daily quotes, “I was not informed about any additional material (that led to the collegium decision of January 10)…what happens in the Collegium is done in confidence. I am not going to betray anybody’s trust by saying whether we discussed this or that. But we take certain decisions…I am telling you that I am disappointed that it was not uploaded.”
Speaking at an event organised by web portal The Leaflet, Justice Lokur stated that the Collegium system has not “failed” but needed “tweaking.” He also opined that last year press conference by four Supreme Court Justices achieved a little bit of openness in the system.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 24, 2019 10:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).