SC objects to minister’s remarks on collegium

Disapproving of Union law minister Kiren Rijiju’s public stance on the collegium system of appointing judges, the Supreme Court on Monday asserted that the Centre is bound to “observe the law of the land” and cannot “frustrate the entire system” just because it is “unhappy” about its legislation on judicial appointments failing to pass the test of constitutionality.

In 2015, the top court struck down a law to replace the collegium system with a new model of judicial appointments.

A bench, led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, also implored attorney general R Venkataramani and solicitor general Tushar Mehta to ascertain that the “law of the land is observed” by the government and that the collegium’s recommendations pending for several months are expedited so that judicial orders do not have to be passed.

“It is crossing the Rubicon by keeping the names pending like