Arun Shourie bats for more openness in collegium system on judges appointments

Former union minister Arun Shourie on Friday said there should be more openness in the system of the collegium on appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and high courts and people should themselves keep a track of individual judges.

Participating in an online talk on "Who will judge the judges", the veteran journalist said former Chief Justice of India J S Verma, the author of the collegium system, himself had said it "has become a bargaining place."

Pitching for more openness about that system such as the qualifications of the person (chosen for appointment) and judgements, he said "....unfortunately we cannot rely on the collegium of the Supreme Court or any other body to be as candid."

Shourie was responding to a query on the appointment of judges during the talk organised by Manthan, a city-based non-government organisation which hosts debates by prominent personalities.

"So, it is up to us, citizens, to keep track of individual judges so that when they are elevated, the public is informed ki bhai, ye tho aisa admi hai, bahut acha admi hai, ya iski ye khamiya hai, ye hamari responsibility hai (he is that type of person, a very good person, or these are his drawbacks. We cannot abdicate it to politicians...," he said.