Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has officially written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal seeking an immediate change in the judicial appointments process. In its letter, the SCBA President and Senior Advocate (SA) Vikas Singh was stern about the delay in finalizing the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), a document that details the procedure for appointing and selecting judges. He also sought the institution of a "transparent, equitable, and merit-driven" framework for judges' appointment in the Supreme Court and high courts.
He said, “The prevailing collegium mechanism, while designed to preserve judicial independence, has inadvertently created significant challenges. Its structural flaws demand urgent and comprehensive correction… First, it arbitrarily ignores the vast talent pool within the Supreme Court Bar for elevation to their respective home state High Courts. These practitioners, whose exposure to national jurisprudence should be viewed as a superior qualification, are being systematically overlooked. This not only wastes valuable judicial talent but also undermines the core principle merit-based selection.”
Moreover, the SCBA noted that important segments, i.e., women, young lawyers, and Supreme Court Bar members, are being excluded from the present system. The letter reads, “This is not an abstract concern but a reality borne out by hard data. As of February 2024, women constituted merely 9.5% of the sanctioned strength in High Courts and a stark 2.94% in the Supreme Court. This is a glaring indictment of systemic exclusion, where the tyranny of a presumed meritocracy masks a deeper reliance on informal networks and patronage.” Overall, the SCBA wrote the letter seeking urgent reforms in Judicial Appointments.