Dattu appointed only 1 judge during tenure

NEW DELHI: As the 42nd Chief Justice of India heading the Supreme Court collegiums, Justice HL Dattu could appoint only one judge during his 14-month tenure, thanks to the litigation over the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which was later struck down by a constitution bench.

“There are no regrets. Procedures take time,” the CJI, who demits office on Wednesday, said.

In a freewheeling chat with Supreme Court correspondents, he hoped the Constitution bench would lay down guidelines for providing adequate representation to Dalits, OBCs and women in the judiciary.

Asked about his appointment as the next National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson, Justice Dattu said, “Its ‘prabhu ki kripa’. I have not yet received any formal announcement from the government on this regard. If it get it, fine. If I don’t, it is fine then too.”

The outgoing CJI was disturbed over the growing pollution in the Capital.

His bench had last month ordered imposition of environment cess on trucks that were not Delhi-bound but used the city as a short-cut to the normal route. He wished he could have done more.

On the friction between judiciary and the executive, Justice Dattu said he had received all cooperation from the executive. But he declined to comment on the perceived special treatment given to Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa’s appeal in her graft case.

Justice Dattu also has high regard for his successor Justice TS Thakur, who in fact is senior to the former in the judiciary.

“He is senior to me. I have appeared as a lawyer before him when he was in the Karnataka high court,” he said.