India Right To Information

The government has tied itself in knots over the criteria of judges' appointment. The department of justice, in two separate responses under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, has given differing criteria for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court. While one response said that "merit, ability, suitability and seniority" of the recommendees was kept in mind when elevation of chief justices of high courts to Supreme Court was considered, another response from the same department ruled out seniority as a criteria for appointment to the SC. The government also denied that there was supersession in denying elevation of former Chief Justice of Delhi HC Justice A P Shah to the SC.

Pointing to this contradiction, activist S C Agrawal has asked the CPIO for a clarification. Agrawal had asked the justice department why Justice Shah was not elevated to the SC despite his seniority. In response in February, the government said seniority was not a criteria. "Seniority is not a criteria for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and therefore, the question of supersession does not arise," S K Srivastava, deputy secretary in the department of justice, said.

Labels: Appointment, Judges, Supreme Court

Complete Article