New Delhi: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul has alleged that former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud was 'too deferential to the government' on judicial appointments and would discuss proposed names with the government before the Supreme Court Collegium had formally deliberated on them. The allegation appears in Kaul's forthcoming memoir, 'Without Fear Or Favour', and was detailed in his interview with journalist Karan Thapar for The Wire, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law
Recounting one Collegium meeting to fill six Supreme Court vacancies, Kaul said five names had been agreed in advance when a sixth name was proposed at the last minute. He said Chandrachud drew him aside and wondered aloud whether he should telephone the government to check its view, and that he told the then CJI such a step should not be taken while the Collegium was deliberating. Kaul said he suspected the sixth name may already have had some form of government approval, PTI reported.
Source: PTI, via Daily Jagran
'This has become unfortunately a practice of names being discussed, and some kind of previous discussion with the government. That used to happen. It has been happening, I think, before [CJI Chandrachud] and after. That is why it troubles me,' Kaul told The Wire, as quoted by Live Law. He drew a distinction between consultation with the executive and what he came to regard as 'pre-approval'.
Source: Live Law
According to the Indian Express account of the memoir, Kaul also recounts the government once raising what he called a 'bizarre' query about the caste of a minority-faith judge candidate. Chandrachud, responding to the book's claims, said he had not read it and could not recall any walkout or recorded dissent by Kaul, the report said. The memoir is scheduled to be published by Juggernaut later this month.
The Congress on Sunday cited the memoir to flag 'serious questions' about the independence of the judiciary under the Modi government. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said matters many were hesitant to discuss openly had now been documented by a former judge, Daily Jagran reported. The claims in the memoir are Kaul's account and allegations; no court has adjudicated them.
Source: PTI, via Daily Jagran