The controversy surrounding the selection of 12 lawyers for appointment as Madras High Court judges took a crucial turn on Friday with the Supreme Court collegium returning the entire list to the High Court for reconsideration.
This is the first time that the apex court collegium has struck down recommendations in such large numbers. A few among the list of 12 names recommended by the HC collegium had attracted controversy after a section of the Madras High Court bar accused of caste bias in the selection process.
According to sources, the SC collegium which met on Thursday evening decided that in the light of the prevailing controversy over the names, it was in the fitness of things to request the HC to reconsider the list. Accordingly, a note was forwarded by the CJI’s office to the Madras HC Chief Justice conveying the decision. There are 15 vacancies in the HC, for which a fresh consultation would now be held.
The controversy over the names had raised an ugly head in the Madras High Court with a PIl filed by a senior lawyer R Gandhi claiming preference being given to Brahmins in the selection process. He demanded a recall of the names and a transparent selection process. A sitting judge too joined issue with the appointments as he barged into the court hearing the PIl and registered his protest to the names being recommended.
lawyer bodies in the State alleged that the list of 12 names was conspicuous by the presence of four persons from the same community of which one was a lawyer who did not fit within the criteria of having adequate practice. Apparently, the lawyers alleged that unqualified persons had made it to the list while meritorious persons were overlooked.
A memorandum drafted by the Forum for Integrity in Governance, a lawyer body based in Chennai wrote to the President alleging “unhealthy lobbying” in finalising the names. The forum, comprising of senior lawyers from the Madras Bar, said, “We understand that allegations abound about candidates being chosen based on criteria far removed from demonstrated or proven calibre, knowledge, expertise and integrity. Instead they are being chosen based on divisive considerations and intense unhealthy lobbying.”
The apex court on January 13 this year directed the Central Government to go ahead with the process of appointment of the 12 names, after the Centre had approached it against order passed by Madras HC on Gandhi’s PIl. Although the court was silent on the criteria for selection, it argued that the process of selection cannot be subject to judicial review in this manner. It ordered the matters before the HC to be transferred to the apex court.