Aastha Thakur
Published on: 20 October 2022 at 15:47 IST
The Uttarakhand High Court set aside the petition requesting to appoint judges to fill the vacant seat in the High Court, stating the reason that it is for the court’s collegium to recommend it.
Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Manoj K Tiwari ruled that the Collegium consisting of the Chief Justice and the two senior-most judges can make the recommendations and the Court has no power to pass judicial directions for the appointment of judges.
The bench highlighted that, “There is no reason to assume that the collegium is not mindful of its duty, or that it would not perform its duty, as and when the occasion arises.“
The petition also requested to remove judges who are going to be retired in due time till fresh elevations or appointments are made to the court.
The bench on this issue orally remarked that this part falls under the consideration of parliament and that such prayers will not be entertained by court.
The order published on the official site states that, “So far as the direction to consider the raising of the age of retirement of judges is concerned, that is an aspect which falls for consideration of the Parliament.”
“In our view, the directions sought for by the petitioners in the present Writ Petition are not called for,“
The petition was filed by the Youth Bar Association and it was dismissed by court.
The collegium system of the Supreme Court has been in the news for a while. The Union Law Minister, Kiren Rijiju, recently over the selection of judges, called out that, indeed the judiciary is also plague with politics when it comes to selection of judges however, its not visible to layman. For him, this system is opaque.