Jaitley criticises Cong for creating hue and cry over judicial appointment issue

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday criticised the Congress party for creating hue and cry over the government's decision to refer back a judicial appointment recommendation to the collegium for reconsideration.

He also recalled how the judges were superseded in the past and attempts were made to influence judgements.

The government had returned the recommendation of Supreme Court collegium for elevation of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph to the apex court. Although, the collegium has decided to resend his name to the government, it is yet to officially approach the government.

Under the present scenario, Jaitley said the executive can give inputs to the collegium, it can even refer a recommendation back with relevant inputs for reconsideration but is eventually bound by the recommendations. "This is contrary to the text of the Constitution," he said in a Facebook post.

"The hue and cry made by my friends in the Congress party recently when the government referred a case back for reconsideration, fades into the oblivion.

"It is part of the much diluted role of an elected government that relevant inputs be brought to the notice of the collegium. This is in consonance with democratic accountability …? I have written this blog so that my friends in the Congress party get an opportunity to look at the mirror," he said, reports PTI.

Jaitley spelled out various incidents of the past where judges of the Supreme Court were superseded and how recommendations of the apex court were turned down.

"Chief Justice Hidayatullah recommended the names of Justice S P Kotwal, the Chief Justice of Bombay; Justice M S Menon, Chief Justice of Kerala to the Supreme Court. The executive did not respond to either of the two names and ignored the recommendations. The Chief Justice meekly submitted and never questioned the inaction," Jaitley said.

Citing the famous Kesavananda Bharati case, the minister recalled how the government of the day tried to subvert the independence of judiciary and gain the power to even tweak the basic tenets of the Constitution with the help of Parliament.

It was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court that outlined the basic structure doctrine of the constitution, which cannot be tempered with.