Bar Council wants advisory body to assist Collegium

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has suggested setting up of an advisory body, comprising representative from the Union government and bar associations among others, to advise the Collegium in appointment of judges to the high courts and the apex court.

The BCI, which is to submit its suggestion to the five-judge Constitution Bench on Wednesday, also favoured publication of vacancies to the post of judges and setting up a secretariat to process the applications. It said the Collegium should take final decision only after consultation with the advisory committee, which, in case of high courts, must include the advocate general of the state as member.

For the purpose of appointment of SC judges, the advisory committee should have representation of the Union government by including the Union Law Minister, Attorney General or Solicitor General.

Maintaining that the Right to Information Act, 2005 would have no application in the matter of appointment of judges, the apex statutory body of lawyers said that with the involvement of the Union government, state government and state bar, there would no ambiguity in the process and transparency would also be achieved.

The joint meeting also resolved that if relatives of any candidates for the post of judges were practising in the HC, the Collegium should take an undertaking from him or her that he or she would be transferred to some other HC.

Meanwhile, after holding discussion with different civil society members, NGO Common Cause suggested that the Collegium must adopt and publicise an unambiguous conflict of interest policy for persons being considered for judgeship and for members of the Collegium itself.

The elite panel should also open itself for public scrutiny and to RTI compliance, it said.
The candidates’ bio-data and assets (of self and immediate family) should be in public domain. Ample opportunity should be provided for public consultation on short-listed candidates, it said, adding in order to check cronyism, two retired Chief Justices of the Supreme Court should be part of the advisory panel to the Collegium.

It also sought the court to reflect upon adequate balance of gender, minorities and disadvantaged groups of the society in making guidelines for Collegium.