Judiciary
The independence of the judiciary and the profession of lawyers is being slowly but surely compromised.
From Bench to Bar, the Executive Tightens Its Grip on Justice - The Wire
The political executive has been stalling the appointment of judges by disregarding the recommendations made by the collegium of judges of the Supreme Court (no less). There are well-known, documented cases of the political executive taking no action on recommendations made by the collegium of judges, rendering the agreed Memorandum of Procedure nothing but a scrap of paper. Where appointments are made, they are delayed, thereby adversely impacting the seniority of some judges while favouring others. For the present purposes, it is not necessary to revisit these lanes and bye-lanes.
Dominance of the judiciary by the political executive has delayed justice delivery with the result that violent crimes appear to have increased. These are reported daily in newspapers, and TV channels hype up these cases and convict the suspects even before the police complete their investigation. So much for speedy justice.
05/07/2025
The Bench’s observations have come at a time when Bar Associations across the country have been condemning the action of the Directorate of Enforcement (‘ED’) summoning two senior advocates of the Supreme Court although the summons were later withdrawn by the agency after uproar.
The Bench noted that these issues require to be addressed because what is at stake is the efficacy of the administration of justice and the capacity of the lawyers to conscientiously and fearlessly discharge their professional duties.
25/06/2025
Last month, The Print reported that 1 in every 3 of India’s 687 sitting permanent high court judges is either related to a sitting or former judge, or comes from a family of lawyers. https://theprint.in/judiciary/in-a-first-sc-releases-list-disclosing-proposed-hc-judges-ties-to-sitting-former-judges/2616685/
The Supreme Court has now released a list of 221 candidates approved by the Supreme Court collegium for appointments as high court judges between 9 November 2022 to 5 May 2025.
Of these, 14 candidates are related to sitting or former judges of the Supreme Court or the high courts. It clarifies that a candidate is treated to be related to a former or sitting judge is or was their father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister, brother, sister-in-law, or brother-in-law.
The list also provides a breakdown of candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), or Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories. Of the 221 candidates, 8 belong to the SC category, 7 to ST category, 32 to OBC category, 7 to most backward classes/backward classes category, and 31 to minorities.
The Supreme Court has published the asset declarations of its serving judges and detailed information about judicial appointments on its official website – a significant move toward greater transparency. https://thewire.in/law/supreme-court-publishes-asset-declarations-of-judges-detailed-info-about-judicial-appointments
This initiative follows a Full Court decision made on April 1, 2025. According to legal news portal Bar and Bench, the decision came amid recent judicial accountability controversies – particularly after burnt currency notes were reportedly discovered at Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma’s residence following a fire in mid-March.
Along with the asset declarations, the court has published detailed information about the judicial appointment process for both High Courts and the Supreme Court. This documentation outlines the specific roles of High Court Collegiums, state and central governments, and the Supreme Court Collegium.
06/05/2025
Justice Gowri’s elevation to the bench in February, 2023 made headlines due to her alleged right-wing leanings, with a petition seeking her disqualification on these grounds and the matter being raised in the Rajya Sabha. https://thewire.in/law/accused-of-hate-speech-bjp-links-justice-gowri-appointed-as-permanent-judge-at-madras-hc
Controversy surrounding Justice Gowri
A petition filed against Justice Gowri’s elevation to the high court in February last year, when she was an advocate, had claimed that she had made hate speeches against Muslims and Christians. The petition, which sought quashing of her elevation, also said that Gowri had been the former general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Mahila Morcha.
11/09/2024
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