Appointment of Judges Is Key to Whether Judiciary Delivers as the Arbiter between Rights of Citizens and Executive
Indira Jaising
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Before I make my comments on the topic for the 3rd Annual RTI Lecture organised by Moneylife Foundation’s RTI Centre, I would like to make a few relevant comments about the work of former Chief Justice MN Venkatachaliah, who has delivered your keynote address today.
Whether the judiciary delivers or not depends on the people who get appointed as judges. Who makes these appointments? It was during the period of his tenure as former CJI that the Supreme Court made a tectonic shift, from judges being appointed primarily by the President of India with the aid and advice of council of ministers, to judges being appointed by the judiciary, in consultation with the prime minister no doubt.