This refers to the editorial, “Appointment of judges” (September 7). The appointment of judges to High Courts and the Supreme Court assumes great importance given that most areas of governance — the legislature, the executive — are plagued with corruption and the judiciary remains by far untainted and the last option of people seeking justice and equity.
Hence, the process of appointing judges should be transparent and of an unimpeachable standard. This can only happen if the ruling establishment shuns its partisan approach and takes on board members of the Opposition and consults them on issues of national interest. The UPA Government has been unwise in not heeding to the BJP's demand in the Rajya Sabha to refer the Constitution (120th) Amendment Bill, 2013, to a Parliamentary Standing Committee.
You are right in stating that before rushing through the judicial reform Bill, the Congress-led UPA Government ought to have sought the opinion of legal luminaries at home as well as from abroad and carefully deliberated on the issue before taking the final call. One hopes that this unseemly haste will not be a big reason to repent later.