Justice Gita Mittal Is An Example Of Failure Of Collegium System : Justice AK Sikri On Her Non-Elevation To SC [Video]

Former Supreme Court Judge Justice AK Sikri on Friday said 'Justice Gita Mittal is an example of failure of Collegium system'.Justice Sikri was speaking at the Inaugural function of the Cornell India Law Centre.Justice Gita Mittal is the present chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi delivered the public lecture on the topic "Transforming India's Judicial System:Proposal for Reforms."It is not difficult to pick the persons (for appointment to the bench) but, as (Senior Advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi) made the comment, the politics in judiciary is worse than that in the Executive and the Parliament. I am happy that he made the remark that the government withholds the files. So he accepts that the Executive is equally responsible. Everybody knows why those names get stuck. It is discussed in the corridors of the SC and the HCs...", iterated Justice A. K. Sikri.Mentioning the insufficiency of judges in the country, he expounded, "The judge-population ratio in India is one of the lowest in the world. Even in China, it is 1 million to 300 plus judges, which is far more than America. Here, it is 20-21. In America also, it is 150 or so...even the strength which is there, they are unable to fill the posts- of the strength of 1070-1080 HC judges, we have a vacancy of 400 judges"Although under the constitution, the minimum age for recommending a person as a HC judge is 35, it has become a practice, a firm convention today that a name will not be sent unless the person is at-least 45 years of age. In the process, what happens is that much of the talent is lost. One joins the profession at 24-25. After 15 years, by the time they are 39-40 years, they are very, very good. I am saying this from my experience of 20 years as part of collegium in the High Court and the Supreme Court. You will find in all HCs, particularly in the metropolitan HCs of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Madras, Gujarat, that there are many budding, good lawyers. In the first 10 years, they are able to make their mark. In the next 5 years, they hone their skill further. When they are 40, we can pick them up from that community but we are not allowed to recommend. 40-45 is a very crucial stage, good lawyers are designated as Senior Advocates . They start earning so well that at the age of 45, they refuse to be elevated to the bench. We find that there are really good advocates who don't want to become judges thereafter...", explained the judge."Now when 45 is the minimum age set, there is also an unwritten convention that the name of a person who is more than 55 years of age must not be sent. There may be a rationale behind it because a person who comes from the bar should be a judge for at-least 7 years. But if a person is already 58,59 or 60, what is the use because the age of retirement is 62 years. But if that is so, then why do you raise the bar at the lower level to say it should be 45?", he asked. "When it comes to the Supreme Court, there is another unwritten rule that a candidate should not be less than 55. Now people may be picked up directly from the bar also for elevation to the SC. In the last 60-65 years, we had only 4 such judges, but now we have 4 judges picked up from the bar in the last 2-3 years itself. But even for this, the minimum age is 55. And that doesn't mean that once you are 55 you are picked up! Sorry, no! By the time the person comes as judge, he is 57, 58...As per one study, the average age of a judge in the SC- based on all judges appointed till date and their tenure- came to be 4-4.5 years...Persons come at the verge of retirement. They are about to retire from the HC at 62 so they get an additional 3 years here. Or at the most, 5-6 years. This happens in the largest number of cases. Maybe there is 1 in 10 cases where a judge gets more the 7 years...", continued Justice Sikri."When a person has this kind of experience and can contribute a lot to the growth of the law and jurisprudence, the date of retirement comes. This has to be taken care of", he reflected."Much can be said about the NJAC and the collegium system. On paper, going by the Indian conditions, it maybe the best system as there is no alternative to it. But it can be, and should be reformed!...Recently, at the launch of Justice D. Y. Chandrachud's son, Chintan Chandrachud's book, the moderator Shekhar Gupta said that when in every bill, there is so much debate and opposition, how was NJAC passed unanimously within hours? There must be something wrong with the Parliament also... that was a very apt remark...There has to be some hybrid system. We have to improve the collegium system. Recommendations are made many times based on the impression about a person in the HC- the impression which is also of 5 persons, and not necessarily of all 5 persons! If am being very candid, I may say that it may be of 1 person also. Even if one person is objecting, it creates a deadlock or a stalemate situation. Today, the...

Justice Gita Mittal Is An Example Of Failure Of Collegium System : Justice AK Sikri On Her Non-Elevation To SC [Video]

MEHAL JAIN

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