Need for mutually assured decisions

Fresh stand-off between the Judiciary and the Executive

The Supreme Court collegium’s decision to overrule the Government’s reservations on its recommendation to appoint Karnataka High Court judge KL Manjunath as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has led to a fresh stand-off between the Judiciary and the Executive. The Government’s reservations were based on certain allegations against Manjuanth. But the collegium has held that the Centre’s objections to the elevation of Manjunath are baseless.

The face-off between the two sides clearly suggests that the system of selection of judges needs a fresh look. A similar confrontation between the two arms of the State over the appointment of Justice PD Dinakaran as a Supreme Court judge five years ago had caused considerable embarrassment to the Judiciary. After the Rajya Sabha initiated removal proceedings against Dinakaran, the judge had to resign from the Judiciary. The two sides should now work out a method that would provide little room for needlessly controversial appointments.

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