Govt not delaying judges’ appointments: Attorney General
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said of 77 names, the govt had approved 34 for high court appointments and sent the rest back to the collegium for reconsideration
New Delhi: Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on Friday told the Supreme Court that there was no file pending pertaining to judges’ appointment with the centre.
“Out of the 77 names forwarded to us, 34 have been approved for high court appointments and 43 been sent back to the collegium for reconsideration," said Rohtagi.
The centre also cleared its stand on the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), saying that it had submitted its proposal and was awaiting the collegium’s response on it.
On this, Chief Justice of India (CJI) T.S. Thakur affirmed that the collegium would hold a meeting on 15 November to expedite the issue of judicial appointments.
The apex court had earlier rapped the centre for not appointing judges to various high courts despite recommendations made by the collegium in this regard. CJI Thakur had also criticized the government for not making adequate appointments, which could bring the judiciary to a halt and deny access to justice for people.
It has been a year since a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional amendment and the related law introducing a panel to make judicial appointments. Since then, the judiciary and the executive have been at loggerheads with each other over the issue.
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