Few women get past collegium’s subjective assessment: SC judge | India News

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday said that in merit-based elections, women secure more than 50% of the posts of judicial officers across states, but on the collegium’s subjective evaluation criteria, only a minimum are selected as judges of the High Court and SC.Addressing the first national conference of the Supreme Court Bar Association in Bengaluru, Justice Bhuiyan said women have very good representation in judicial services across the state, some even crossing the 50% mark. “But has it been replicated in the Constitutional Court? That is the question. This is where the scrutiny of the collegium system comes in. When evaluation becomes subjective, why don’t women make the grade? Out of 287 SC judges since 1950, we have had a total of 11 women judges. Why? Why is it starting, casual judges with justices and lay judges. 2%,” he said.Justice Bhuiyan said that only 14% of High Court judges are women. “In 25 High Courts, we have only two women Chief Justices (CJs) – Gujarat and Meghalaya. One more Chief Justice will be there within a month. This is also grossly inadequate, three out of 25 High Courts,” he said. “My research shows that whenever the recruitment process is objective, more women enter the judiciary. When India becomes a developed country (developed India by 2047), there should be more parity in gender representation in the judiciary. The SC must be a rainbow institution, truly reflecting the diversity of the nation,” Justice Bhuiyan said.Former CJI BR Gavai said there are several SC judgments which have said that if the name of a person recommended for the post of judge in the High Court is returned for reconsideration by the government and reiterated by the collegium, the government had no option but to appoint them. “But there are many instances where even after repeated repetitions, individuals are not appointed,” he said. “The collegium is not a perfect system but at least for now, it is the best fit for the country.“He said the judiciary was mainly criticized for its inability to deal with arrears and backlog, delays in disposal of cases at various levels, lack of transparency in administrative decision-making (appointment of judges), long vacations and lack of diversity, especially representation of women in the Constitutional Court.The former CJI said the SC erred in many cases, including the first major judgment on right to life from the AK Gopalan case to the emergency-era ADM Jabalpur case. He said, criticism is important for any institution including judiciary.He recalled the first speech of the first CJI, Harilal Jekisondas Kania, who said the SC must act independently of the legislature and the executive while interpreting the Constitution as a living document.Justice Bhuiyan said, “The SC must earn the respect of citizens, not demand it…Judicial power does not depend on law alone, but on trust and legitimacy. Accountability, integrity and transparency must be essential for the judiciary to function effectively in a democratic society. The judiciary has no purse or sword. Its only asset is the good of the people.”He said, in a developed country, institutions should have effective autonomy. “Investigating agencies as well as the media should be able to perform their duties without any political interference or control. Development should be in accordance with the guiding principles of state policy and no one should be excluded from development, especially the historically neglected.”