The collegium, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant, met with candidates recommended by the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts for judgeship. The meeting took place over the weekend in Visakhapatnam, a busy city on India’s east coast, to assess the candidates’ personality, suitability, and competence for constitutional court judgeship.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court collegium held a meeting in Visakhapatnam, marking a first in nearly three decades of its existence. This was the first time the collegium conducted part of the judge selection process outside of Delhi.
The collegium, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant, met with candidates recommended by the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts for judgeship. The meeting took place over the weekend in Visakhapatnam, a busy city on India’s east coast, to assess the candidates’ personality, suitability, and competence for constitutional court judgeship.
Since the Supreme Court collegium system was established in the 1990s, the selection of judges for constitutional courts has been insulated from executive influence. In the past, the collegium has always conducted its work in Delhi. However, this time, more than 20 out of the 32 Supreme Court judges, along with their families, attended a retreat in Visakhapatnam.
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The collegium decided to meet with candidates recommended for judgeship by the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts. Instead of calling the candidates to Delhi, it was decided that meeting them in Visakhapatnam would save time and money for the candidates.
According to sources, the interaction with candidates from the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts took place in the hotel where the Supreme Court judges were staying for the retreat. The collegium assessed the suitability, capability, and personality of three candidates from Andhra Pradesh and five from Telangana.
This approach was a new step taken by the collegium, which had previously only relied on detailed biodata, intelligence reports, and opinions from governors and chief ministers. The personal interaction allowed the collegium to evaluate the candidates’ demeanor and determine if they were suitable for the judgeship based on first-hand impressions.
Earlier, the collegium would review the candidates’ biodata, intelligence reports about their background, and feedback from governors and chief ministers. However, meeting the candidates in person has become part of the process to evaluate their character and personality more effectively. The collegium’s decision to have this personal interaction was a new step taken in December when it assessed candidates recommended for judgeship in the Allahabad, Bombay, and Rajasthan High Courts.
The Supreme Court collegium is also currently discussing two important proposals to address the influence of “father-uncle judges” in the selection process for High Court judgeships.
The proposals aim to ensure that first-generation lawyers are not overlooked in favor of candidates from families with a history in the judiciary. There has been widespread discontent among lawyers who feel that first-generation lawyers are often overlooked when competing with the children of sitting or former judges.
One of the initial proposals was quite radical. It suggested that the appointment of family members (children or relatives) of sitting and former judges should be paused. This proposal received support from many lawyers, but some argued that it would be discriminatory to exclude competent lawyers simply because they are related to sitting or former judges.
To address this concern, the second proposal introduced a middle-ground approach. It suggested that the assessment criteria for the children of sitting or former judges should be made stricter compared to the criteria for first-generation lawyers.
