When Justice BR Gavai, assumed his role as Chief Justice Of India (CJI), last month, it was learnt that he had firmly communicated to the Central government that it cannot selectively pick names from those recommended by the Collegium. This statement highlighted a growing concern he shares with others in the collegium about how judicial appointments are managed in India.

A month later, during a public event, CJI Gavai reiterated his commitment to transparency in the Collegium’s recommendations . He declared, "Merit will never be compromised. We will have representatives from all sections of society. Names of all recommended will be followed up."

However, just shortly after these assurances, the Central government sanctioned only two out of four names proposed for elevation to the Bombay High Court, neglecting the other candidate on that list, Advocate Rajesh Sudhakar Datar. Consequently, Datar withdrew his consent for judgeship. A few days earlier an advocate of Delhi High Court, Shwetashree Majumdar also withdrew her consent for judgeship.

On September 24 of the previous year, the Supreme Court Collegium, led at that time by former CJI DY Chandrachud, had recommended Datar along with three other advocates for appointment as judges.

Datar's qualifications, professional and personal conduct had been validated after consultations with senior Bombay High Court judges, and the same was conveyed to the Union Law Ministry's Department of Justice. Despite this, the government acted on the Collegium’s suggestions ratifying only two names and that too after almost ten months. Datar's recommendation remained unprocessed, without any clear explanation or formal communication.

The ongoing silence of the High Court Bar Associations & Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa (BCMG) on the issue is intriguing, and it is reliably learnt from sources in the Bar that Adv.Rajesh Datar's closeness to retired supreme Court  judge, Justice Abhay Oka could be the reason of his name being dropped from the list of ratified appointees. 

If this is true then Avocate Datar's name not making it to the list has deep meaning.

Other advocates who chose to withdraw from the potential judgeship process are Senior advocate Aditya Sondhi and R John Sathyan, having undergone analogous experiences, with their candidacies stalled without explanation.

The situation is concerning not merely for the candidates who leave but for the integrity and functionality of the system itself and CJI Gavai’s communication to the government on this is crucial.

Source:News