Intel reports on HC, SC judges' appt sought only in extraordinary circumstances: Rijiju
- New Delhi: Generally, it is not a practice to seek reports from the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) on proposals for appointment of judges in HCs and the Supreme Court, except in extraordinary circumstances involving issues related to national security, law minister Kiren Rijiju said on Friday.
- The minister was responding to a question in the Lok Sabha by Congress MP Manish Tewari. Rijiju said: "The SC Collegium vide its minutes dated January 18 to cite the reports of the R&AW, which inter alia mentioned the sexuality of an advocate whose name has been recommended for appointment as judge of the Delhi HC."
- Citing an intelligence report, the government has not yet cleared the proposal sent by the SC Collegium despite its reiteration of the name, for having national security implications.
- Rijiju said the memorandum of procedure for appointment of judges of high courts has laid down that all appointments are to be considered in the light of such other reports/inputs as may be available to the government for assessing the suitability in respect of the names under consideration.
- "Accordingly, Intelligence Bureau inputs are obtained and provided to the SC Collegium for making assessment on the recommenders," the minister said.
- While political affiliations have not been an absolute bar in appointment of such judges, however, "the hallmarks of the most important personal qualifications required are moral Vigor, ethical firmness and imperviousness to corrupting or venal influences, humility and lack of affiliations, judicial temperament, zeal and capacity to work," he said.
- The union law minister further cited a Supreme Court order of 1993 (Second Judges Case), which observed that merit selection is the dominant method for judicial selections.