SC agrees to hear PIL to notify appointment of names reiterated by Collegium, Legal News, ET LegalWorld – Legal Firms

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a 2018 PIL filed by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation seeking direction to the Centre to notify appointments of the candidates in the higher judiciary whose names have been reiterated by the Collegium. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices Hima Kohli and J B Pardiwala was told by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, that the plea was filed in 2018 but not listed.

“Yes this will be listed. I will pass administrative orders. This will come on board,” the bench said.

The NGO alleged that the Centre has been “indefinitely sitting” on the names recommended by the top court collegium for appointment of judges in the higher judiciary.

The plea had said that the government cannot “frustrate” the process of appointment of judges in the apex court and high courts in “an oblique way” by sitting on collegium’s recommendations and not responding to names reiterated by it.

The petitioner NGO had claimed that “stone-walling” of judicial appointments by the executive for “oblique and vested interests” amounts to interference in the due process of law and the independence and integrity of the judiciary.

It had has sought a direction to the Centre to notify the appointment of judges for the apex court and different high courts whose names have already been unanimously reiterated by the collegium and are pending with the government.

The plea had also sought a direction to the government to notify the recommendations for appointments of judges to various high court that have been sent by the collegium and the Centre has not responded even though six weeks have passed since the recommendations were received.