Won’t appoint gay judge Salve says SC verdict is ‘unacceptable’

In the last 22 yrs, SC collegium never appointed an openly gay judge

NEW DELHI: Senior advocate Harish Salve on Saturday said the Supreme Court’s verdict declaring the National Judicial Appointments Commission unconstitutional is “unacceptable,” saying most of the arguments of the court were “fallacious”.

“Constitution isn’t about just one branch working independently, but rather all three arms (Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary) working together in harmony,” said the former Solicitor General in an interview to Karan Thapar.

Suggesting that NJAC can be brought back with certain changes in its composition, Salve insisted that the provision for veto given to any two members of the panel must be retained.

“The veto system ensures that the tyranny of the majority doesn’t affect the process. There will be sharing of responsibility. This is a method for checks and balances, why are we running away from it?”

He added that the composition of the NJAC could be expanded to even include other bodies, including the CAG and CVC.

Rejecting the top court’s argument that being the biggest litigator the government cannot be allowed to be part of a panel that chooses judges, Salve said, “the judiciary cannot be a one-man army.”

“The argument is fallacious. Barring a couple of cases of political importance the government servants and ministers theoretically or constitutionally do not get affected by the cases in court. Why would they be biased?” he asked.

Salve said that selecting a wrong judge was a “dear mistake” to make as once appointed, it becomes “nearly impossible.”