SC junks PIL against appointment of Khehar as CJI

THE SUPREME Court on Friday dismissed a PIL that sought to question the eligibility of Justice J S Khehar for his appointment as the next Chief Justice of India.

A bench of Justices R K Agrawal and D Y Chandrachud said there was no question of the senior-most judge being considered ineligible for appointment as the 44th CJI only because Justice Khehar headed a bench that had quashed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and revived the collegium.

“Since the petitioners have praised the quality of Justice J S Khehar, there is no question of him being considered ineligible for being appointed as the Chief Justice of India,” said the bench, trashing the petition by a group of lawyers under the aegis of National Lawyers’ Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms.

The bench further reasoned that the collegium not only consists of the CJI but also four other senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and hence, this could not be a ground to challenge the appointment. “We do not find any merit in the petition and the same is dismissed,” ordered the bench.

Advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, appearing for the lawyers’ body, argued that the issue of the judiciary’s independence and appointment of judges was important and that it was “painful” for them to approach the apex court with such a petition. He claimed that judges in the higher judiciary were coming from “a few families only” and “it cannot be the exclusive domain of some persons”.

Nedumpara argued that Justice Khehar had restored the collegium and was hence its beneficiary. “If he becomes the CJI, it will create some doubt in the mind of the general public that he had struck down the NJAC for his benefit.”

Shuaib Masoodi A police vehicle set on fire during a clash in Srinagar on Friday.