Bar Council opposes supersession of judges

The Bar Council of India on Wednesday passed a resolution asking the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider and recall its decision to supersede judges in recommending the names of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and a Delhi High Court judge, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, for elevation to the apex court.

“The supersession of several senior judges and chief justices of the country cannot be tolerated by the people; the revocation of the earlier decision recommending the names of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Rajendra Menon is viewed as whimsical and arbitrary,” the BCI said.

It said the recent decision of the SC Collegium taken on January 10 recalling and reviewing of the earlier recommendations of December 12 is viewed by the Bar and the common man as “unjust and improper”.

The decision will certainly lead to “humiliation and demoralisation” of such judges and also of several other deserving senior judges and chief justices of high courts.

The resolution passed by BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra further stated, “we are watching the strong resentment and reaction of the Indian bar; we are seeing the comments of intellectuals, social activists and the general public which shows the faith of the people has abruptly eroded from our Collegium system in recent past.”

The BCI, apex regulatory body for legal profession and education, decided to meet individually, the five senior-most judges, who formed the Collegium in Supreme Court and to request them to recall their recommendation.

Justice Kailash Gambhir, a former Delhi HC judge, on Monday wrote a letter to the President and called the decision as “appalling and outrageous” since over 30 judges, which include many chief justices, has been superseded.