Supreme Court Judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, expressed concerns on Saturday that the lack of transparency in the Collegium’s judicial appointments could lead to the selection of individuals who have made unconstitutional or derogatory remarks. He cited the example of a former Allahabad High Court Judge who had referred to a minority community as ‘ants’ in a speech while serving on the Bench.
Justice Bhuyan stated that the Collegium’s failure to provide reasons for its recommendations keeps the public in the dark about the achievements of deserving candidates. He noted that the return to opacity by the Collegium is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the last three statements of the Supreme Court Collegium not containing any reasons for recommending elevation.
The Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) provides the procedure for appointment and transfer of judges to the Supreme Court and State High Courts. However, the process of revising the MoP to make judicial appointments transparent and accountable has been stalled since 2015. Justice Bhuyan emphasized that open courts and transparency are essential for the Indian judiciary to retain public faith.
In a separate context, Justice Bhuyan discussed the issue of livestreaming of court proceedings. He noted that a recent order by a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has drawn a clear line between transparency and preventing misuse and commercial exploitation of livestreamed content. The order aims to prevent the circulation of decontextualized fragments of oral exchanges with sensational captions, which can cause reputational harm to judges, advocates, and litigants.
Justice Bhuyan underscored that the principle of open justice is quintessential for the Indian judiciary, and that livestreaming of court proceedings has been the most visible transparency development of the last decade. He quoted the Supreme Court’s own words in a 2020 judgment, stating that judicial independence is not secured by secrecy, and that increase in transparency would not threaten judicial independence.
The Judge emphasized that public access to justice and transparency is the very soul of justice, and that it is the keenest spur to exertion and the surest of all guards against improbity.
