Chelameswar for sweeping reforms in higher judiciary
NEW DELHI: Backing the need for reforms in judicial appointments to the Supreme Court, Justice Jasti Chelameswar criticised the tradition of regional representation (of judges) in the top court and also attacked the expanded jurisdiction of the court saying BR Ambedkar and other founding fathers of the constitution “never dreamt that SC will one day hear bail applications.” Justice Chelameswar was speaking at the launch of a book here.
NEW DELHI: Backing the need for reforms in judicial appointments to the Supreme Court of India, Justice Jasti Chelameswar criticised the tradition of regional representation (of judges) in the top court and also attacked the expanded jurisdiction of the court saying BR Ambedkar and other founding fathers of the constitution “never dreamt that Supreme Court will one day hear bail applications.”
“The idea of regional representation in Supreme Court is problematic; every state believes that it is entitled to a seat in the Supreme Court and it needs to be addressed,” said Justice Chelameswar.
Justice Chelameswar was speaking at the launch of a book, Appointment of Judges at the Supreme Court of India: Transparency, Accountability and Independence, edited by Arghya Sengupta and Ritwika Sharma in the national capital on Monday.
Justice Chelameswar, the second senior most judge of the SC, and three of his colleagues courted controversy in January this year when they held a press conference and aired their views on the need to bring in changes in the functioning of the top court.
The move is widely seen as being critical of the functioning of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
The controversy has refused to die down since, with there even being buzz of a move in the Rajya Sabha to impeach the Chief Justice. Over the weekend, Justice Chelameswar, speaking at a Harvard University event in New Delhi, said that he was in favour of the system being changed, not impeachment.