Cong to Collegium: uphold majesty of judiciary

The Congress on Friday expressed displeasure over the delay by the Supreme Court Collegium in reiterating its recommendation to the government to appoint Justice K M Joseph as a judge of the apex court.

“There should have been an immediate reiteration of the recommendation.... It should have happened forthwith,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters here.

Singhvi also wanted the Collegium to question the government on the four-and-a-half month delay in rejecting the recommendation to appoint Justice Joseph, the chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, as a Supreme Court judge.

The SC Collegium had on Wednesday deferred taking a decision on Justice Joseph's fate after the law ministry returned his file for reconsideration while clearing the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as the judge in the apex Court.

The Congress has charged that the government had rejected the proposal to appoint Justice Joseph as the Supreme Court judge as he had set aside President's rule imposed in Uttarakhand, dismissing the then Congress-led government.

Singhvi said the Congress cannot support content-based discrimination against a particular judge or certain judges both in appointment and transfer.

The Supreme Court Collegium is expected to meet next week to consider Justice Joseph's case as well as some other proposals for appointments to the higher judiciary.

Singhvi urged the Collegium to make the second reiteration to the government insisting on the elevation of Justice Joseph.

“We would implore, we would urge the collegium and the Judges to uphold the majesty of the judiciary because that majesty transcends all other individual Institutions political parties,” Singhvi said.