‘CMs, chief justices to adhere to timelines’

NEW DELHI: Constitutional authorities at the Centre and states should stick to deadlines fixed for judicial appointments, Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana said on Saturday, as this has emerged as one of the big resolutions agreed upon by chief ministers, lieutenant governors and administrators of union territories and chief justices of the high courts at a joint meeting held in the capital after six years.

“On the appointment of judges, all expressed concern about the delay in filling vacancies in the high courts and district courts,” justice Ramana said at a media briefing after the meeting that was also attended by law minister Kiren Rijiju. “In one of the resolutions passed today, it has been agreed that all constitutional authorities and judicial authorities will adhere to the timelines fixed in the previous judgments of the court.”

The CJI was referring to the decision by the Supreme Court in April 2021 in PLR Projects v Mahanadi Coalfields, where a three-judge bench headed by the then CJI SA Bobde had laid down elaborate timelines for clearing proposals for appointment of high court judges, right from the

The issue of MoP is not to be discussed with the CMs. NV RAMANA, Chief Justice of India

stage of initiation of proposal to its final clearance.

On a question whether the meeting took up the pending issue of finalising memorandum of procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges, CJI said, “The issue of MoP is not to be discussed with the CMs. The time schedule for appointment has been fixed by us in the PLR judgment. We have reiterated that from the initiation of the proposal to the PM office level, they have to follow the timelines.”

“We are ready to associate with state governments for setting up infrastructure of district courts. Some chief ministers could not agree on having the present set-up at national level because implementation and execution lies at the state level,” Rijiju pointed out. “So the body will be constituted at the state level with involvement of chief ministers and chief justices.”